<div><strong>Why We are Here</strong>
</div>
<div>On Sunday, August 30, 2026, Jacob Gregory, of Morganton, NC, went climbing on Shortoff Mountain with his son, Jonah. What was supposed to be another day, adventuring with his family, turned into a terrible climbing accident, leaving Jacob critically injured and began what will be a very long and uncertain journey for him and his family.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Jacob was climbing deep in the rugged Shortoff Mountain area of Linville Gorge, several miles from the trailhead and in extremely difficult terrain. Following a serious fall, Jacob was left with life-threatening injuries in a location that was extraordinarily challenging for rescuers to reach.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>A massive, multi-agency technical rescue operation came together, drawing highly trained rescuers and emergency personnel from across multiple counties and agencies. Burke County Search and Rescue were joined by teams from surrounding counties, along with North Carolina Emergency Management, NC HART, Charlotte Fire Department, MedCenter Air and the North Carolina National Guard. The terrain was so steep, remote, and difficult that rescuers had to rappel into the gorge to reach Jacob and begin treating him. Getting him out would require an extraordinary combination of technical rescue skills, medical expertise, coordination and sheer determination.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>One detail from the rescue captures just how much people were willing to give to bring Jacob home. A Burke Rescue volunteer ran approximately 1.5 miles through the gorge, gaining roughly 1,000 feet of elevation in just 31 minutes while carrying whole blood needed to help stabilize Jacob.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Other rescuers worked their way down the mountain, establishing the technical systems necessary to reach and treat him. Teams from multiple counties worked together for hours. Eventually, because the terrain made a conventional extraction so difficult, a North Carolina National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was brought in to assist. The Black Hawk lifted Jacob from the mountain, and he was transferred to a waiting medical helicopter to transport him to Atrium Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. It took an extraordinary number of people, coordination, and courage to get Jacob from that remote mountainside to the care he needed. To every responder who answered that call: thank you. You saved a life and brought a husband, father, brother, son, friend and loved one to safety.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Who Jacob Is</strong>
</div>
<div>Jacob is a gentle and kind soul. He has a way of making people feel welcome, and he shows genuine kindness and compassion to everyone he meets. He is funny, happy, energetic, and almost always focused on making the people around him happy. If you know Jacob, you probably know that he is the person who will drop what he is doing to help someone else. During the recent devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, a large tree fell on a friend's home. Jacob immediately made himself available to help with the construction and repairs needed to make that family's home whole again. This wasn't unusual for Jacob. It is simply who he is. He sees someone who needs help, and he helps.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Now, Jacob is the one who needs help. Jacob is deeply devoted to his family. His wife, Kim, is an elementary school teacher in the public school system. Together they have three children: Zoe, who is a college freshman and works at local arts education program; and 17-year-old twins Jonah and Jude, both high school seniors. Jacob also has an adult son, Caleb, who lives in Texas.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Jacob has always been an incredibly active and involved father. He loves spending time with his sons and their friends on outdoor adventures like hiking, climbing, kayaking, mountain biking, snowboarding, skiing and whatever else gets them outside together. And when his children are competing, Jacob is there. Cross country meets. Wrestling matches. Lacrosse games. It is hard to remember one that he missed.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Jacob has always been exceptionally energetic and physically fit. Being active, being outdoors and being with his family are such a fundamental part of who he is. He also has a huge heart for animals. After a family beach trip, Jacob rescued an injured pigeon and subsequently learned how to rehabilitate and raise pigeons. More recently, he took up beekeeping as a new hobby. He and his family are also actively involved with a local cat rescue and regularly foster cats. Jacob simply hasn't met a living creature he doesn't love. That is the person we are fighting for.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>The Road Ahead</strong>
</div>
<div>Jacob suffered multiple serious injuries, and he underwent emergency surgery with the Atrium Neurosurgery team Sunday evening and is currently in the ICU at Atrium CMC Main in Charlotte. This morning brought a small but incredibly meaningful sign of hope: Jacob was able to move his right leg a little. His medical team is currently focused on controlling his pain and stabilizing his condition.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>It is far too early to know what the coming weeks, months and possibly years will look like. His recovery will be long, and there are many unknowns ahead. What we do know is that Jacob has a tremendous amount to fight for. He has family, extended family, friends, neighbors, coworkers and a community that loves him. And he has always been the person who shows up when someone else needs help.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Why We Are Asking for Help</strong>
</div>
<div>Jacob is self-employed as a general contractor. His work is physically demanding, and because of the severity of his injuries, he will be unable to work for an unknown period of time. The family will be facing the enormous financial challenges that accompany a catastrophic injury and extended hospitalization: medical expenses, rehabilitation and recovery costs, transportation and travel to Charlotte, everyday household expenses, lost income and the many unexpected expenses that will inevitably come with the long road ahead.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We are creating this fundraiser to help ease this immense financial burden so that the family can focus on what matters most right now, and navigate these new challenges. Every donation, regardless of size, will help.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>If you are not able to donate, sharing this fundraiser is an equally meaningful way to help. Please share Jacob's story with your friends, family, coworkers and community. Most of all, please keep Jacob, Kim, Zoe, Jonah, Jude, and Caleb in your heart.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Jacob has spent his life being a good human by showing up for people, lending a hand, making people laugh, helping when someone needs it, and giving his time and energy without expecting anything in return.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Help us give Jacob and his family the support they need for the long road ahead. Thank you for every donation, every share, every message and every act of kindness.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Finally, THANK YOU again to all the people who went into the mountains on Sunday and gave an extraordinary amount of themselves to bring Jacob home. What you did for him and the family will never be forgotten.
</div>

Robert Ducsay

Thomas Bailey

Marian Phillips

Lee Champion

Anonymous

Peter Dickson

Kari Kalgren

Charles & Susan Trawick

Marjorie Frick

Jocelyn Chrisley

Jessica Hoyle

Bill Lutz

Rosa Sprinkle

Jeffrey Barrier

Henry Lanier

Don Sprinkle

Jeannette Pantani

Becky Georges

Help Support Jacob's Long Road to Recovery

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

be_supporter_comments_enabled_supported_funds

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

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 Support Jacob's Long Road to Recovery

Still $212,182 to go. Help us build momentum.