Tennis Channel's Brett Haber flies plane full of supplies for hurricane relief in North Carolina

The tennis family is showing up for the many, many people affected by Hurricane Helene. Take Tennis Channel anchor and commentator Brett Haber, for one, who recently traveled to western North Carolina in support of relief efforts.

Traveling to this devasted area isn't easy, safe—or even, necessarily, asked for by local authorities. They don't want curious or well-meaning drivers clogging up affected roadways, using scarce resources (food, water) or inadvertedly causing further damage. In-and-out air travel, however, can circumvent these issues, and that's what the Washington, D.C.-based Haber did on Saturday.

He got the idea through Operation Airdrop, a Texas based 501(c)(3) non-profit that organizes general aviation assets in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Pilots with private aircraft and those with military experience are able to uniquely help in situations like this one.

"My day was with the people of Rutherfordton, N.C.—but it's happening in dozens of communities around the state—and it embodies everything our country aspires to," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

After coordinating efforts to collect necessary supplies, including diapers, non-perishable food, toiletries including toothpaste and toothbrushes, socks and pet food via his network in the D.C. area and beyond, Haber flew to Rutherford County Airport in Rutherfordton, which boasts a population of just over 3,600 and was one of the communities hit the hardest by record flooding from the storm that made landfall on Sept. 26.

Touched by the heart on display by the local community in the face of devestation, Haber later wrote on on social media that he was "in awe of the people of western North Carolina and their capacity for selflessness and love in the face of tragedy."

Haber, along with a host of other pilots, were given moving receptions upon arrival, with local children making thank-you notes that particularly struck a chord with the industry veteran.

"Thank you for the work you're doing, for the compassion you're demonstrating, for the warm welcome, for the beautiful thank you card, and for the lesson in what community truly means," Haber said. "And thank you to all our friends who donated supplies. We packed the plane to the absolute gills—and your gracious kindness is now on the ground, in trucks, and headed to those in need."

Earlier this year, Haber signed a five-year contract extension with the network, keeping him on air until at least 2028. He first appeared on Tennis Channel in 2004.

Haber isn't the only familiar face in the sport who is using their platform to try to help. US Open finalist Jessica Pegula, who married husband Taylor Gahagen in hard-hit Asheville in 2021, was one of the first high-profile sports figures to speak out about the storm's impact on her social media channels. While competing on the other side of the globe in Asia, Pegula has continued to amplify ways for fans and others following her to support impacted communities, sharing resources via the stories on her Instagram account.

More than 115 people were killed by the storm in North Carolina alone, with at least 200 people still missing.