Help Zoia and Her Family Rebuild From Helene

Help Zoia and the Hundley family with hurricane recovery

Our dear friends, Zoia and her family, have experienced a devastating loss from storm Helene. Torrential record-breaking rainfall caused the Swannanoa River to rapidly rise above its banks, cross a highway, and completely submerge their home in floodwaters to the roofline, along with their community.

Zoia and her family are safe. But for them this is a total and overwhelming loss of their home. All of their belongings are damaged or gone. Two vehicles are a total loss. A garage with tools that the family used for a small business is also decimated. The home is considered a total loss from the level of damage and is completely uninhabitable. They face difficult questions of whether anything can be salvaged or should be demolished.

This life had been built over the last 25 years, after Zoia uprooted once already, to build a new future in the United States following the Chernobyl disaster. Their family has spent many years in the small Swannanoa community purposefully crafting a new life and carefully fixing up this home. It will be very difficult at this point for them to start over again, and they need support.

As close family friends, the Burnette family is raising funds to help them through figuring out how to move forward. Immediate needs include a vehicle, replacing tools and personal belongings, money for short-term essentials, and financial support towards long-term housing. All funds go directly to them.

We realize many families have been hit particularly hard in the region, and especially in the Swannanoa community, and they are grateful for the friends that have surrounded them in time of need. Please consider donating to their effort as this community seeks to recover from devastating impacts.

(Photo credit for last photo: Marcia Martin)