Hilton Head church serves meals, cleans debris

What started as a free meal for a few Hurricane Matthew first-responders has mushroomed into two meals daily for the community and a home clean-up service by members of Hilton Head Presbyterian Church.

It started Tuesday. By Wednesday, volunteers served 400 meals, said the Rev. Bill McCutchen of the church at 235 William Hilton Parkway beside the public school campus.

On Thursday, they distributed nearly 1,000 meals to people at the church and in neighboring communities. They are serving breakfast and lunch, and it is expected to run through Sunday.

Also, the church hurricane response has grown to include two chainsaw teams and two debris-removal teams working in the nearby Gum Tree Road area.

Members of the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America) church are collaborating with the Evangelical Church of America ReachGlobal Crisis Response to offer free assistance to homes in the community.

By the end of the day Thursday, more than 100 work order forms had been received.

Free assistance includes tree removal and cutting, debris cleanup, house gutting and content removal.

McCutchen said about 100 volunteers from the church and 50 from the community are involved, including teenagers out of school.

His daily Facebook Live updates are attracting more than 5,000 views. A fraternity brother he hasn’t seen since 1995 watched and decided to make a donation. His company matched it and the company controller matched it, resulting in a $5,500 check for the church hurricane relief effort.

And on Thursday, a company in the Northeast wanted to send down 40,000 pounds of food.

On Friday, the use of a 27-ton boom truck with operator and crew was donated. It was on its way down from the Upstate, so trees can be lifted off of houses.

Locally, food donors include Sam’s Club, Harris Teeter and Kroger.

McCutchen said the church will offer only one service this Sunday at 10 a.m., followed by a community “Thanksgiving” meal of turkey, dressing and all the fixings.

Information is available by email at hurricanematthewrelief@hiltonheadpca.com.

This story was originally published October 14, 2016 at 7:33 AM with the headline "Hilton Head church serves meals, cleans debris."