Help replace Tam’s wheelchair etc buried by Helene

My Godchild, Tamara lost her everyday wheelchair buried in muck and mud when Helene flooded her home!

My good friend from college, Michele Smith, raised her 3 children in the beautiful Swannanoa Valley community that was so devastated by Hurricane Helene.

Her two wonderful sons, Philip and Joel, and beautiful daughter, Tamara, who has cerebral palsy, are my Godchildren.

Helene struck and their home was covered with 7ft of water, muck, and now mold!

Such a blessing, as they were able to get out quickly as the water rose and got Tamara in her old transport van!

The last few days, Tamara has been their cheerleader safely in her van while the family dug out the few treasured mementos that were salvageable.

Their home is a total loss as well as Michele’s van and of course all Tamara’s wheelchair and access support! They have no idea where they will be living. They are staying with family and friends now but will need lots of speciality items for Tam.

We are raising funds for a new wheelchair and home and transportation access. Just a few items she’ll immediate need are a ramp, grab bars and a lowering seat in the new-to-them van to begin to replace all that was lost. Let’s get Tamara a new wheelchair and home access items! I love seeing that gorgeous smile.

Helene struck hard but we can work together to put our community back together! If you can, please help!

She will be dancing for joy that you are thinking of her and her family!

Thanks for helping out my beloved Godchild, Tamara Smith, Annelle Woggon from Waynesville NC.

Update 10/10/24

Thank you so much for your most generous donation! We surpassed our funding raising goal!!!!!!!

We want to start this out with the biggest, warmest THANK-YOU! With your help we raised $12,950 on the GoFundMe for Michele and Tam, and collected additional cash gifts from family, friends, and the sweetest podcaster who ever was. In total, we’ve raised just about $20,000 for Tamara and Michele to restart their lives and purchase a wheelchair and accessibility equipment to make their next house a home that is safe and easy to live in.

We also were put in touch with three special needs nonprofits who have all said they can help us find equipment for Tam. This is huge, and only happened because our story got shared enough to end up in the hands of the people who knew about the right resources.

We are so appreciative of YOU and YOUR community wrapping around our loved ones during this crisis. Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers for their emotional health processing their horrific escape from the mighty rushing muddy Swannanoa!

Finally- the wheelchair timeline! Because of Tam’s needs, she needs to be custom fit for her wheelchair by a professional to ensure we are buying the correct chair, pads, and fit for her body- this should happen soon!

Once the wheelchair is ordered, arrives, and is taken for a test drive- we plan on sending out “Check Out My New Ride” postcards to everyone who helped us get here who wants one. If you would like one please let us know your address so we can send it to you.

We are more than happy to share the good news that is coming around the corner.

Thank-you again for being our village.

Annelle Woggon

Alex DeYonke