A Stanly County church hopes to help those affected by the storms that hit the county a few weeks ago.

Salem United Method Church, 20987  N.C. Highway 73 in Albemarle, will offer a free community breakfast 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Feb. 29. Donations will be accepted.

The breakfast is organized by Crossroads Connection, which is a network of churches, businesses and local organizations that serves areas in northern Stanly, northeastern Cabarrus and southern Rowan.

“The breakfast is a community effort to put on and to provide benefits for the whole community affected,” said the Rev. Jennifer Orr, Crossroads Connection coordinator at Western NC Conference, United Methodist Church.

The money raised will go for equipment rental, fuel, tarps and lumber that are going to be needed in large quantities to help those people affected by the storms.

The church needs people to volunteer to work as cooks (arrive by 5:45 a.m.), servers (arrive by 6:45 a.m.) and cleaners (arrive around 7:30 a.m.) for the event.

The Western North Carolina Conference and Uwharrie District of the United Methodist Church will conduct a workday after the breakfast to help with disaster response. Orr said those who would like to help should bring personal safety equipment and any cleanup yard equipment (wheelbarrows, wagons, heavy-duty work gloves), but no chainsaws.

People wanting to help with the workday should come to the church around 8:30 a.m. Teams will be divided up and depart from Salem to work sites. The goal is to work from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is helping to coordinate the workday and will work with Helping Hands, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization from Denton.

If people want to donate directly to relief efforts, checks can be mailed to: Uwharrie District of the UMC, P.O. Box 1307, Albemarle, NC 28002.

People interested in helping with the breakfast or volunteering their time should email Crossroads Connection at febstorm2020@gmail.com.