Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Oct. 10, 2024 – A Jonesboro man and some of his biker buddies will be hitting the streets this weekend to collect donations for Hurricane Helene relief through the United Cajun Navy.

Thomas Barnes said his friend with the Cajun Navy contacted him last weekend to ask if he could help raise funds for fuel and livestock grain, and Barnes agreed. The donated truck and supplies will be leaving out of Mammoth Springs next week.

“I had been watching it on the news and I cried and cried, thinking about the Americans that were suffering in Tennessee, Georgia, the Carolinas and Florida,” he recalled. “So, when he asked, I said yes.”

This massive hurricane devastated communities across the Southeast as it made its way through several states. Now organizations like the United Cajun Navy are doing everything they can to help the survivors of this tragedy, Barnes said, noting that it is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based out of Baton Rouge, LA.

With several locations throughout the United States for its supply chain and the help of its determined staff and volunteers, the United Cajun Navy organizes search and rescue teams during natural disasters, as well as provides meals, toys, medical supplies, generators, and much more at no cost to those who need them.

However, getting the supplies to where they need to go can be tricky, requiring trucks, equipment, and sometimes even animals.

“They need fuel to maintain as much equipment as possible and some roads are impassable so they may have to use pack animals to get the supplies where it is needed,” Barnes said. “The money we are collecting will be used to provide items like livestock grain and fuel for rural towns in North Carolina that need the most help.

In fact, he said the group has never been afraid to go through a blockade and they plan to take the two truckloads through FEMA barricades if they must in order to get the relief where it is needed.

“[The Cajun Navy] was a big worker during Hurricane Katrina. That’s why I love them, they will get supplies where it is needed,” Barnes said. “FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] ain’t telling them where they can and can’t go.”

Raising funds isn’t new to him, Barnes said, noting that he and his wife started and ran Jonesboro Gifting for Children for many years, where he would raise money from Black Friday through Christmas for local children in need. Barnes also added he raised $3,000 this last Sunday at the corner of Highland Drive and Caraway Road.

Now he and his group of volunteers plan to blanket business intersections Saturday and Sunday to raise even more. To donate, just catch them on the way through.

“Just look for the giant American flag and make checks payable to the United Cajun Navy,” he said. “Everything will be going to the relief effort.”

For more information on the donation drive call Barnes at (870) 919-5077 or for more information on the United Cajun Navy, visit their website at www.unitedcajunnavy.org.