Podcast 13: The Gifts of Christmas Donna Stafford: Love is Greater than Hurricane Helene

This story is from the mountains of Western North Carolina after the devastating hurricane Helene destroyed so much of the area. In Bakersville, we met with the remarkable Donna Stafford, co-owner of Helen’s, an iconic restaurant which opened in 1956. Donna and her 80 year old mother, Mary, bought it in 2023 and had invested every last dime. It had just started making a profit and employed over 10 people in the small community of 1,500 people. Hurricane Helene ended the dream of Helen’s Restaurant. I met Donna when we were delivering relief items to her garage and I was struck by her indomitable spirit which was overflowing with love and generosity. Here she was, having lost everything, and yet was more concerned about taking care of others than sorrowing over the loss of nearly all her worldly possessions. Donna is an inspiration to remind us that the best gift we can give others for Christmas is to live like people are more important than possessions.  You will love her story!