Support Blake, Katie, Truffle, and Brûlée

To our family, friends, and all those concerned,

My wife (Katie), my cats (Truffle and Brûlée), and I (Blake) are safe following the historically catastrophic flooding of Asheville caused by Hurricane Helene. Our apartment, however, was completely wiped out. The cover photo for this fundraiser is the only photo we were able to take of what's left of our apartment. There is so much debris that we were unable to get back in. We are incredibly lucky to have made it out of this event with our lives, our car, one bag of essentials, and one box of important documents.

Everything else was lost.

Our clothes, our furniture, our appliances, our electronics, our artwork, our keepsakes, our mementos, our everything that made our house a home is gone. We are remaining positive and taking things as they come, bouncing around between hotels and rooms with family as we figure out our next steps.

Asking for help is not something I'm very good at, but the response from those in our lives offering help without us having to ask has been overwhelming. To everyone who has reached out and offered assistance, if you have the means, even if it's just to share this page with your network, we would all greatly appreciate whatever you feel comfortable contributing.

I also want to use this space to recognize our privilege. Our situation is dire, but many people are much worse off, without a car, without that one bag, without that one box, or without their lives. My city is hurting, so if you have limited means but still want to help, please consider using your resources to assist national relief efforts (Red Cross, NC Disaster Relief Fund, etc.) or the many local/regional organizations (visit this link for a list of 35 organizations in need of your help) offering critical assistance in our time of need.

One last note: we are in no way expecting to receive the "goal" of this fundraiser. That is an arbitrary amount, and, if I'm honest, it feels gross assigning a number to what we've lost, what we "need," or whatever. Thanks again to everyone who's checked in on us and helped in any way they could. We appreciate you all so much.

If you’d prefer to help via Venmo, my username is @Blake_Becker.

Thank you for thinking of us,

Blake, Katie, Truffle, and Brûlée