Support Asheville's Recovery After Hurricane Helene

Hello, my name is Jimmy Nguyen, and I’m reaching out for your support to help the resilient community of Asheville in direct aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. I recently become a resident of Mars Hill, just north of Asheville, two months prior to the hurricane. Though I am a newcomer to this area and my home was spared, my partner, Hannah, and I feel a great responsibility to use our access, privilege, capability, and ties with our existing community in an effort to directly support those who aren't as lucky: those who have been displaced; those without power and water for the foreseeable future; and those who are left without food security.

Our Mission:

Our mission is simple: to provide ongoing direct aid and support through autonomous action in a effort to fill in the gaps and areas of need in the community relief efforts of the resulting flood damage of Hurricane Helene, particularly rural communities where access to aid and relief are more limited.

Why This Matters:

The recovery of Asheville and surrounding communities will not be a timeline of days and weeks, but rather months and years, with no current estimation on when water supply will return to 80% of the residents in the area, and some rural areas potentially not having power for up to a year. This means that needs will change and evolve in rapid time, especially as those impacted move through Fall and Winter Seasons.

What we are seeing in Asheville in response to the devastation of Hurricane Helene is nothing short of a miracle: individuals stepping up to help complete strangers, offering their services, talents, and capabilities in a way that supports the greater good. Mutual aid and community hubs have popped up all over, 100% ran by volunteers, mostly in or near local Fire Stations, giving out free food, water, survival supplies, gas, clothing...anything you could need to ride out the next few months.

People are teaching each other how to make compostable toilets; others making portable showers using pressurized spray bottles; groups distributing non-potable water so that toilets can be flushed, all just to have a sense of normalcy and stability during these challenging times. In conjunction, municipal leaders are working endlessly to get water and power back on. Both private and government ran aerial support teams initially focused on Search and Rescue have now oriented toward relief air drops for those who are stranded in mountain rural communities required to shelter in place. Federal and local government agencies are focused on rebuilding roads and other infrastructure.

Hannah and I are dedicated to be a useful part of this community care in the best ways that we can, and we are inspired everyday by the aid actions we are seeing and hearing from our friends and individuals met along the way.

Our Approach:

What is required to achieve our mission is to go out into local and rural communities, establish relationships with the community hubs and aid efforts, learn about their evolving needs, and do our best to directly support. Specifically, I live in Madison county and have connected with local aid and community organizations in Buncombe, McDowell, and Yancey county.

Through our initial outreach, we have established relationships with the following local organizations (to be updated ongoingly):

And special thank you to STIO Mountain Apparel for donating 132 items of children's cold weather gear to Grassroots Aid Partnership. Also International Medical Relief for donating thousands of dollars of medical supplies which will go to Savage Freedoms/CCRT as well as other medical aid organizations.

How You Can Help:

Our goal is to raise enough funds to 1) purchase and donate items specifically requested by local non-profits and aid organizations; 2) direct monetary donations toward these organizations; and 3) monetary aid to individuals and families impacted by the hurricane as needs are discovered Your contribution, no matter the size, will directly impact individuals on the ground, bringing hope and relief in a time they need it most.

Please join this urgent cause to aid Asheville’s recovery by contributing today. Together, we can rebuild and restore our beloved community. Thank you for your generous support and standing with Asheville during this critical time.

Important Notes:

We have pledged monetary and supply donations to Grassroots Aid Partnership and ROAR_WNC.

Supply donations are going out to the other organizations in the bulleted list above.

We believe in transparency of action for two main reasons: 1) so that donors know exactly how their money is being spent and 2) the impact we are collectively creating through this fundraising effort. As a part of this transparency, Hannah and I will be periodically reporting on monetary transparency and overall impact, tracking money spent down to the last cent as well as information on where supplies will be distributed and where aid will be focused.

We pledge that no money raised will go into our personal pockets or personally benefit us in any way. We seek to be a trusted conduit of community support, not a siphon, as there is such a need for community to stand together. In that effort, we recognize that we must operating in the highest ethical and moral standard, and we hold ourselves true to that.

Your donation is a token of trust to our cause. Thank you for believing in us and in our mission. We believe that those who can carry more should, and we deeply appreciate your efforts in helping us do so.