While Hurricane Florence sweeps through the Carolinas, we cannot forget the people who go above and beyond to help others.
Even with the death and destruction of the storm, so many have risen up to the call for help.
To all those people who opened their homes to strangers, who spent their own money to rescue animals, who braved waist high water to save their neighbor from possible death, this is our thank-you note to you.
Thank you, Amber Hersel.
This is your first hurricane with the Civilian Crisis Response Team. It's scary and overwhelming. But, that didn't stop you from carrying a child to safety - as if he were your own.
And to the small restaurant in Havelock, North Carolina - we say thank you for firing up your gas-powered kitchen and cooking by the light of your cell phones to feed your own community - even though the electricity was knocked out.
Cajun Navy - thank you, too.
Ever since Katrina, you've traveled the country helping rescue anyone and everyone who needed. This time, you saved two people from a flooded animal shelter, and then you rescued more than 120 pets trapped inside.
And Tony Alsup. Thank you for driving from Tennessee, in a school bus you bought with your own money to save 64 animals from shelters.
And a thank you goes to Robert Simmons, Jr.
You walked through waist deep water, saying good-bye to the home you've known for 40 years, but you showed your compassion by making sure you didn't leave behind the tiniest and most helpless creature.
And thank you to the kitten named Survivor, who put a smile on all our faces.
These are just a few stories. But to the hundreds of people, first responders, law enforcement and strangers working to make sure no one feels lost, alone or scared in this storm, we say, thank you.
