The power of social media is being used for good after Hurricane Matthew.
Neighbors are connecting on Facebook and helping to remove debris from homes of the people who need it most.
Bill and Teresa Cawthon are two of those people. They built their riverside home from the ground up back in ’92 but when Hurricane Matthew slammed into the coast it destroyed much of their belongings.
“Just everything, this is my life, this is what I love and it’s gone,” said Teresa Cawthon.
Nearly all of their belongings on the first floor were ruined and they needed helping hauling them out.
That’s where a group of Pacetti Bay Middle School students stepped in.
“It feels kind of special knowing we are helping out someone else who wasn't as fortunate as us,” said Quin Hallock.
Action News Jax found out about these efforts through social media.
Stories about people in need have spread on platforms like Facebook. A group called "Saint Augustine Hurricane Recovery" already has more than 11,000 members while another group called "Hurricane Matthew Helping Hands" has nearly 800.
People posted about wanting to help, including stocking up their own cars with supplies and offering to go to hard-hit areas.
“People helping people, that's what life is about,” said Teresa Cawthon.
The Cawthons tell me the boys helped them tremendously when it came to clearing debris…he tells me it’s actions like theirs that give them hope that things will be just fine.
“The community, everybody, I mean it's just tremendous - we love them,” said Bill Cawthon.
The Cawthons home wasn’t the only one the students helped, they also helped other neighbors in the same block.
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