Grove City businesses team up to help hurricane victims

GROVE CITY, Ohio (WCMH) -- The devastation of both hurricanes Helene and Milton is being seen and felt across the country and some central Ohio business owners are taking the matter into their own hands. 

The owners of Funkys Automotive and Grove City Jolly Pirate donuts along with other community members decided to extend a helping hand to people most affected by Hurricane Helene by sending clean water to some of the hardest hit areas.  

Funkys Automotive owner Steve Funk said it all started after one call. 

"I have an aunt who lives down in the Asheville area there, I was talking to her right before this happened, right during when it happened, and they were just telling me the devastation that took place,” Funk said. “So, I don't know, it just hit me, and I said, ‘You know, we got to do something.’"  

With the help of Magnetic Springs, they were able to pack a semi-truck with 36,000 bottles of water, sending it to North Carolina and South Carolina, but according to Grove City Jolly Pirate Donuts owner Amy Rinehart, they don't want to stop there.   

"I hope that we collect enough that we can send some things to Florida, to those that are in need also," Rinehart said. “We're going to able to help out some people who are really in need and have been a need for a while.” 

There are already plans in place to send another truck with personal care items to the Carolinas as well as those in Florida dealing with the effects of Hurricane Milton in the coming weeks.   

Funkys Automotive staff member Jeff Parker believes their reasoning for doing this work is not to be seen, but for others to be heard. 

"You're meeting a need and you're doing it for the right reason,” Parker said. “You know, when you talk to them on the phone and you hear this sincere thank you, I can't describe it. It just, it feels good."  

Owner of Five Aces Transport Brad Hayes drives the semi-trucks to these areas, and he knows if they can just alleviate some stress for people in this challenging time, it was all worth it.    

"They got enough to worry about, you know, how they're going to rebuild and everything like, we need just, you know, need to back them as much as we can," Hayes said. "Americans help Americans.”