By Liz Bell, EdNC

Nearly a year after Hurricane Helene left more than 4 feet of water inside the halls of Quaker Meadows Generations in Morganton, North Carolina, the child care program’s staff welcomed students and families back to its building for a new school year. The day marked a homecoming and a chance to reflect on the program’s long-running impact on the community. “Seeing those little faces walk in and how excited they were, especially the kids that were here before the hurricane, to just walk in and their little eyes see the new playgrounds and the new equipment. It was just — it closed the circle,” said Tina Kyes, family and child development director at Blue Ridge Community Action (BRAC), the child care program’s parent organization.

Parents, children, and staff posed under a

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