Help Gloria Rebuild After Hurricane Helene

My name is Angie Benning and I live in Birmingham, Alabama. I never thought I would be using GoFundMe, but I feel like this is a situation that people would want to help with if they can.

This past week, I had the privilege of helping to begin to rebuild a home in Swannanoa, North Carolina, which was devastated by Hurricane Helene. The homeowner, Gloria, is my sister's 82-year-old mother-in-law. The entire interior of her home needs to be rebuilt after floodwaters brought mud and debris inside during the storm, which caused extensive damage. She also lost most of her furniture, clothing and other belongings due to deep mud, water, and debris filling her home. We are very thankful that Gloria is safe since she was able to evacuate to the top floor of her home during the storm. It was a very scary night for her, wondering how high the floodwaters would rise inside her home. It was also a terrifying situation for her loved ones, as she was not able to contact anyone for 2 days. She was eventually able to get to safety through the help of her neighbors, whom we are so grateful for.

Almost immediately after the storm, the Samaritan's Purse organization was crucial in helping clearing out all of the mud and debris covering the first floor of her home. We now are in the process of rebuilding. Gloria did not have flood insurance and has received only limited financial assistance from FEMA. Her homeowner's insurance is not covering any damage since it was due to flooding. The funds are not nearly enough to cover the damage and get her back in her home, where she has lived for almost 20 years. She moved to Swannanoa after her husband passed away in order to be closer to her brother.

My awesome niece (Gloria's granddaughter) and her husband are trying to rebuild her home themselves with as much volunteer labor as they can find. They were planning to move out of state to Colorado from Georgia, but have instead made the move to Swannanoa and postponed their plans in order to help Gloria. Gloria is currently living with them in their long-term AirBnB while they work to rebuild. My family, as well as other family members and friends, took time off to spend the entire week of Thanksgiving in Swannanoa working on the house. It was such a rewarding experience to see the impact we could make and how grateful Gloria was, but unfortunately we could not stay longer as much as we would have liked to. There is still a ton of work to be done and the funds are just not enough to cover all of the materials and labor needed. My niece and her husband hope to have Gloria back in her home by Christmas if possible.

If you feel led to help Gloria with a financial donation, she would sincerely appreciate it! Some things that the money would be used for are replacing drywall throughout her home, buying kitchen cabinets, repairing her master bathroom, installing carpet, and repairing her sunroom, among other things.