Elijah needs a place to rest his head.

Hurricane Helene devastated Bakersville, a small rural town in the western North Carolina mountains known for little except its rhododendron blooms. When the storm hit on September 27th, lives were turned upside down, including Elijah's.

I met Elijah in my after-school youth empowerment program when he was in middle school. Through many afternoons of games, thoughtful discussions, and community service projects, we grew close as a group. Elijah held (and still holds) a special place in my heart.

Elijah is now a high school student who runs track and keeps straight A's in his classes despite working a part-time job nearly all of his free time to help make ends meet. Before the hurricane, he often shared with me how much stress he was carrying. Yet I watched him keep pushing forward with pure stubbornness and the kind of grit that is only earned through hardship.

On the morning of the hurricane, water came rushing under Elijah's home, causing it to shift off the foundation. He and his family evacuated to safety, but when they returned to the house days later, they found it to be structurally unsafe and filled with black mold.

The family of four is currently living out of two campers, one of them borrowed and leaking. There are no other options for his family right now. Elijah asked me to request $11,000 because he would settle for purchasing the run-down camper and fixing it up, but I want better than that for him.

I set the GoFundMe goal at $11,000, as a place to start, but my hope and prayer is that your donations will far exceed that goal and provide a safer and more permanent dwelling. My prayer is that God will place on your hearts to give so generously that Elijah will be better off after this storm than he was before.

I believe God has a beautiful and special purpose for Elijah's life --how could He not, with the name 'Elijah'? Just as God provided for Elijah the Hebrew prophet supernaturally, causing the widow's jar of flour and jug of oil to never run dry (1 Kings 17), I am calling on Him to provide for Elijah of Bakersville in a supernaturally abundant way.

Will you be a part of what God will do? Will you help provide a safe and permanent place for Elijah to rest his head? A place from which he will not only survive but thrive, stable enough in his material needs to move towards God's purpose for his barely beginning life?

Thank you.

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Who I am: Tara, a non-profit youth worker and after-school program coordinator

Where I live: Fairview, North Carolina

My relationship to Elijah (beneficiary of funds raised): former youth advisor and after-school coordinator, mentor/friend

How funds will be used: 100% of funds will go directly to the purchase of a suitable camper, RV, or mobile home for Elijah, depending on the amount of donations. Since Elijah turns 18 in April 2025, plans will be made to ensure his full ownership of the purchase so that he continues to benefit from stable housing into his young adulthood.