CLEARWATER, Fla. — Hurricane Helene left a number of Tampa Bay Area residents in need of help, including members of the United States Coast Guard living right here in our region.

Lt. Greg Wilcox is a pilot with the U.S. Coast Guard. He was living in a rental on Redington Beach with his wife at the time the hurricane hit and says floodwaters destroyed most of their belongings.

“The floodwaters went into my garage and lifted my car," said Wilcox. "It actually crumpled my trunk and pushed my car into my smoker and because the walls were getting soft from the flood, it ending up pushing the smoker through the wall and into my kitchen.”

Wilcox moved to Florida from California and said he didn’t realize he needed to get flood insurance under a separate policy.

He wasn’t sure where to turn until the Coast Guard Foundation stepped in to help.

The organization, which is the charitable arm of the U.S. Coast Guard, provided Wilcox with grant money to replace many of his belongings.

“It’s extremely humbling and it just fills me with gratitude that they were there to help me,” said Wilcox. “My desire was always to be in a humanitarian service and help others and so it’s very humbling to be on the other end of that.”

Members of the public can make donations to the Coast Guard foundation by visiting their website.