<div>Dear Friends, Family, and Community,
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>My name is Christie. I live in Ohio. I am raising funds for my sister Annie Hall, her partner Michael Burgin, and son Tony Burgin. They suffered tremendous loss due to the catastrophic flooding in their home of Swannanoa, NC caused by Hurricane Helene. They lost their home and belongings, and nearly lost their lives. They are now displaced from their home and facing the monumental task of rebuilding their lives. Many of you have asked for ways to help, and we are so very grateful for your love and support. I am sharing their story, pictures, and video below.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>------------------------
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>On Thursday 9/26 I spoke with my sister. She said the Asheville area was already beginning to experience flooding from Helene. They considered leaving the area, but it was dark and already downpouring, making a drive through the mountains too risky. They knew they may need to evacuate the next morning. However at first daylight the following day 9/27, they found their street was already flooded and impassable. Communications were already down and they were unable to get information about their safety. At 8am, waters began entering their home from the floorboards. By 9am they had two feet of water in the house and their cars were already halfway underwater. Annie, Michael, and Tony quickly made their way to the attic, with the two dogs and three cats. But the water continued to rise with rapid pace. As they looked for ways to escape the attic, they soon realized they were trapped. Breaking through the roof proved impossible. They realized their only way out was through a window or door. They had to leave the animals in the attic because the water was already over 5 feet deep in the house. They swam through their house trying to find an escape. But all the doors and windows were stuck or blocked by large furniture and appliances that were floating through the house. As the space between the top of the water and ceiling narrowed and they were treading water in their home, they took turns diving down under the water and attempting to break through a window. They had about 1 foot of airspace left between the water and ceiling, when they finally broke the glass in a window underwater. One by one they dove down into the water, through the broken window, and out of the house up to the rooftop. They clung to the gutters and pulled themselves up onto the roof. It was around 11a-12p at this point, and the waters from Helene had completely engulfed their home. A neighbor on higher ground saw them and others, heard screaming, and came in a kayak to try to help save people. The kayaker brought an axe, they used it to break a hole in the roof and pull out the dogs, but they were not able to find the cats. Other neighbors were in the same situation, trapped in attics and on roofs. As far as they know, all neighbors eventually made it to the rooftops. One by one they held onto the back of the kayak and swam through dangerous waters to a nearby hillside. They walked several miles to seek shelter that evening. Words cannot express how grateful we all are for their survival.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>------------------------
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The waters have now receded, revealing the catastrophic damage to their home and their beloved community. Annie and Michael have begun the effort to salvage what they can but are facing an extremely challenging road to recovery. Their Homeowners insurance denied coverage, citing damage was due to flooding (not covered) and not due to the storm (covered). They did not have flood insurance, they were not required nor advised to obtain it when they purchased the home. The same is true for their neighbors - around 20 houses were completely submerged, Homeowners insurance is denying all their claims, and only one homeowner has flood insurance. Many of the houses on their street have already been condemned.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>------------------------
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We hesitated to use this platform, as we were hoping their Homeowners Insurance would cover most of their losses. We now know Homeowners Insurance is not covering anything. FEMA should provide some relief, but it cannot cover everything lost. They are awaiting their FEMA inspection. However, neighbors on their street, who were also submerged and are without flood insurance, are reporting receiving final FEMA grant of $15K-$20K. Of course this is helpful and better than $0K, but it's not nearly enough to secure a safe dwelling either through repair or rebuild.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Funds raised through this campaign will be given to Annie, Michael, and Tony to help them navigate the difficult months, and possibly year, ahead. They lost everything they own. They will also need to eventually continue payments on their mortgage (for an uninhabitable house), and other items that were financed (that are now lost).
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>There will be a tremendous cost to rebuilding their lives. Any amount you can give, whether big or small, will make a significant difference in helping them recover from this disaster. Please feel free to share this page with others.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>------------------------
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>If you have been following the news, you have seen the devastating aftermath. My sister's town of Swannanoa is among the hardest hit areas, it has been ravaged. Search and rescues are still ongoing. Power, water, communication are still down and unreliable. Roads are....just gone in many places. Many have perished. The residents of Western North Carolina have suffered unthinkable damage and loss. But hopefully you have also seen in the news, inspiring stories of people helping people, communities banding together for greater good, and resiliency.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Anything you can contribute to help my sister and her family will be, beyond words, appreciated. If you wish to instead donate more broadly, I encourage you to donate to organizations involved in Helene relief for Swannanoa, Black Mountain, Asheville, or Buncombe County, North Carolina - the whole area and all its people will need everyone's help to recover.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Thank you,
</div>
<div>Christie and family
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>------------------------
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>You may have seen this picture. This is their street, taken by a neighbor on a hill, on 9/27.
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/83265743_1728247368645175_r." width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Another picture of their street, taken by a neighbor, 9/27.
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/83265743_1728247409977483_r." width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Next pictures are after the waters have receded. Their house in the background. They along with neighbors are emptying their houses to prevent further damage from moisture and mold to structures. These are garbage piles of their belongings that are damaged from water, mud, mold and unsalvageable.
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/83265743_1728247688620042_r." width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Their car. The mud outside and inside homes is a couple feet deep. The streets and some driveways were scraped to help residents access their homes. The X on the car and shed in the back were made by first responders searching for victims.
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/83265743_1728247877333884_r." width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div>A picture of their kitchen.
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/83265743_1728248040132895_r." width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This is a piece done by the NY Times featuring my sisters immediate nextdoor neighbor, to give you more of an idea of the damage and challenges ahead.
</div>
<div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUfzab_z5EY" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUfzab_z5EY" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUfzab_z5EY</a></a>
</div>

Anonymous

Mike Chambers

Charlene Bordonaro

Susan Bass

Robert Shepherd

Amanda Stevenson

Stephen Dawson

Romona Colglazier

Bianca Turner

Carla Kampschmidt

Craig Hambrick

Jane (Jeff) Hall

Jacqueline Ward

J Popp

Katey Williams

Jordan Owens

Carolyn Harriss

Help Annie's Family Recover After Hurricane Helene

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Help Annie's Family Recover After Hurricane Helene

Still $28,750 to go. Help us build momentum.