Upstate neighborhood creates special message for Helene first responders

TAYLORS, SC (FOX Carolina) – A special message is drawing attention on social media and it was all started by an Upstate mother and her kids.

Mari Young and her two girls created a “thank you” message on the pavement in their neighborhood in Taylors with the hope of sparking joy and some hope for pilots flying essentials to those in western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene.

The family said the message was something simple they could do while stuck at home with no power.

“We were watching so many helicopters and planes flying over and I thought, ‘hey, let’s try to keep the kids busy while no ones in school and we don’t have power’,” Young said. “We thought, ‘why don’t we do something because there is not much we can do from our neighborhood since we were still locked in a little bit. I think we used the whole neighborhoods worth of chalk to do that drawing.”

Young said 12 other kids from the neighborhood joined in to help create the giant pavement masterpiece that took several hours to complete.

“We were hoping when (first responders) looked down, they would have something to smile at and make them feel good,” Young said.

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