Kuhn sisters raise funds to support Hurricane Helene victims

The Kuhn sisters decided to take action.

Caroline, Vivian and Lydia Kuhn, of Waldron, recently sold pumpkins and lemonade to support Hurricane Helene victims. The sisters, along with their cousin, Liam Rund, were able to raise $475, which was donated to the Civilian Crisis Response Team.

Maria Kuhn, who is the mother of the three girls, said the state of North Carolina has always been a special place for her family. Caroline, the oldest daughter who is in sixth grade at Waldron Junior/Senior High School, is actually named after the state.

“My family has spent nearly every Fourth of July since I was young in the southern Outer Banks of North Carolina. When Brad (father of girls) and I got married and started having children, we continued that tradition with our own girls,” Maria said. “Ironically, for the first time in 30-plus years of traveling down there, Brad and I decided to add a couple hours to our drive and tour the Biltmore this summer with our girls. It was such an awesome experience for us and Asheville is such an artsy little town.

“We spent our day at the Biltmore Estate and wound up having dinner at a cute little Quonset Hut restaurant called White Duck Taco. The girls loved it because it sat right along the river and you could watch floaters tubing along together.”

After flooding caused by Hurricane Helene, the restaurant was almost completely submerged.

“When the girls and I heard about the devastation that occurred in western North Carolina, we were heartbroken,” Maria said. “Like most people, we were wanting so badly to help but not really sure how to go about it.”

The sisters' grandfather had previously helped the girls and Liam plant a pumpkin patch on the family’s property. A few weeks before the hurricane, they decided to sell pumpkins in the front yard.

“We had harvested them a little early due to Brad starting in the fields (farming). It was about 90 degrees and there was a little push back, but once they got to the patch and saw all the different varieties they had grown, they started to find the fun in finding the ugliest one or the biggest one,” Maria said. “They had been selling them for about two weeks before the devastation. It was last Saturday that (Caroline) was talking about doing something to help the victims and we landed on the idea of turning over their pumpkin proceeds to a charity that has been a big part of the aid western North Carolina has been receiving.”

Maria said it made her heart “super happy” to see the girls and Liam invest their time and effort to help others.

“Sometimes as a parent, it’s hard to know if you’re raising your kids to be good humans,” Maria said. “But then, it’s things like this that let me breathe a little easier at night.”

With Halloween approaching, the sisters saw an opportunity and seized it.

“We already had access to the pumpkins, and I figured that since people would buy them for Halloween and decorating anyways, why not see if they would support a good cause at the same time?” Caroline said. "(North Carolina) is one of my favorite places to visit and it made me super sad to see what they were going through.”

Vivian, who is in fourth grade at Waldron, explained why it is important to help those in need.

“It is always good to do things for other people because kindness comes back around,” Vivian said. “If my house gets taken by a tornado, I hope someone out there will help me, too.”

And despite the heat, Lydia, a first grader at Waldron, said the sisters would like to do a similar fundraiser in the future.

“It was hot and fun,” Lydia said. “I love (North Carolina). I want (North Carolina) and (Florida) to be put back together again and be their best.”

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