Fargo woman organized big relief effort, helped collect crucial supplies for hurricane survivors
By Carol Stender
The conversation is lively whenever Susan Scheel and her friends at Bethany Grace Pointe’s Independent Living Residence in Fargo gather for coffee, but, at the end of September, the group was becoming concerned. All had been watching the news reports of Hurricane Helene’s destructive forces on the southeastern U.S.
TV footage documented the destruction caused by the hurricane’s heavy winds, rain and flooding. Roads were washed out. Homes and businesses were destroyed and some swept away by swift moving water that flooded the region. People died.
“They were wondering what they could do to help,” Scheel said.
Scheel is a woman of action. The retired social worker put her skills to work and started making connections. She didn’t turn to government agencies asking how to help. Scheel began contacting churches.
“It’s what I kept hearing from people,” she said. “They were saying, ‘Go to the churches for help.’”
Thanks to a member of Atonement Lutheran Church in Fargo, Scheel learned of a Lutheran Church Missouri Synod congregation in North Carolina that was among other churches in that area providing services for those in need. Those churches were providing aid in the Lenoir, Hendersonville and Asheville communities in the state.
One of her North Carolina contacts, Krissy, talked to Scheel often about their needs.
“Oh, Miss Susan, don’t forget us in North Dakota and Minnesota,” Krissy said. “We are hurting bad.”
Scheel received regular reports from the North Carolina contacts detailing people’s needs. For many, it was everything. Scheel then contacted area Fargo-Moorhead churches asking their help to get donations for the cause. Some churches were ready to help and others chose not to get involved due to other mission and outreach programs they were heading. It was all good, she said. She learned of some churches, like the Baptists, who had 60 sites already set up in the area to offer aid.
She began collecting items and donations herself, as did other members of Bethany Grace Pointe.
Word of the project was spread thanks to local TV coverage. More than 55 churches and individuals donated to North Carolina Disaster Relief.
Scheel’s apartment filled with items and the Brad Heinz Room at Bethany Grace Pointe became a designated spot for the donations before it was shipped to North Carolina via an Orphan Grain Train truck.
Cleaning supplies, quilts, diapers, detergents, soaps, toothbrushes, and toothpastes were among the items collected.
“We take so many things for granted when we do have them,” she said. “When we don’t have them, we realize the treasures we had.”
Helping others has always been a part of Scheel’s life. She had good examples to follow in her parents. Her mother was a homemaker who was very involved in the church and community. She served on the YWCA auxiliary, refugee programs, and the Lutheran Social Services auxiliary while her father worked as a line foreman for Minnkota Power. He also helped neighbors and with church projects.
Scheel started life in Bismarck with her parents and siblings. There were signs that she was destined to a career helping others, she said. Scheel recalled, when she was just four years old, attending a church service where a missionary talked about the needs of Korean orphans. She told her parents she intended to go to Korea and bring back orphans. Her words were prophetic when, more than 20 years later, she made three trips to Korea, bringing orphans to the U.S. for adoption. The trips took place in the late 1970s and early 1980s, she said.
Her family moved to West Fargo when she was nine. Scheel received her Bachelors Degree in social work from the University of North Dakota and her Masters Degree while she was living in Florida.
She has worked as a social worker in Fergus Falls, the VA Hospital in Fargo, and in Florida and Texas. She retired early, she said. She suffered from severe depression from working too hard, she said.
“One can be bitter about some things, but I have chosen to be better about things,” Scheel said.
The North Dakota native is upfront about the challenges she personally faces due to depression and also severe arthritis.
“I focus on what I can do today,” she said. “I focus on what I can do to make today better.”
She has three heroes, Scheel said. Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill and Teddy Roosevelt all suffered from depression, but they didn’t let it get them down. Those three moved forward with life.
And so has she.
Her sister, Sandy, has encouraged her. When Scheel was experiencing a bout of depression, Sandy told her, “Susan, don’t ever forget to do things in your senior years.”
Scheel has coordinated a number of projects in the Fargo area since her retirement, but the North Carolina Relief project is probably the biggest.
All the items where shipped to North Carolina on Nov. 8 and arrived at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church on Nov. 11. An additional $3,250 was donated so in December needed items will be sent directly to St Peter’s Lutheran Church, which in turn will be distributed to Lenoir, Hendersonville and Asheville.
The needs are ongoing for those affected by Hurricane Helene. Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in Conover, N.C. operates a website - saintpetersconover.org - where individuals can donate to the relief efforts. Click on the bar for Hurricane Relief and it leads to a page where, to the right, individuals can order through Amazon items that will go towards clean up kits and other needs in the relief effort.
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