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<div>Did you know that there is a deep connection between the indigenous people of Appalachia and the people of Ireland? This connection goes back to the Great Irish Famine of the mid 1800s. 
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<div>The people of the Cherokee and Choctaw Nations sent hundreds of dollars to the people of Ireland to ease the suffering caused by the famine. This equates to tens of thousands of dollars when adjusted for inflation.
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<div>You might ask why the Cherokee and Choctaw, two sovereign peoples who were themselves very poor at that time, would give what amounts to a small fortune to a group of people halfway across the world. The answer is empathy.
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<div>The Cherokee and Choctaw recognized their connection to the Irish because they faced similar existential threats. 
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<div>I see a similar connection between the people of Cruso/WNC and the people of Puerto Rico at this point. I just got off the phone with a friend from Puerto Rico, and they have raised over $6000 for the relief efforts in WNC. 
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<div>Sarah, my connection in Puerto Rico, is a former resident of Cruso. She used to work at Boojum Brewing right here in Haywood County, but a while back she moved to Puerto Rico. 
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<div>While she wasn’t here in Cruso for Hurricane Helene, she and her community in PR have suffered through the destruction of multiple hurricanes—including Hurricane Maria which left some residents on the island without power, and many other essentials, for months. Sarah and her community understand how a natural disaster of this proportion can affect the people, and they are doing their best to make sure that Cruso and WNC are on their way to recovery. 
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<div>Also, thanks to her and her community of amazing friends we have achieved our goal of raising $5000.
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<div>When I get a chance to process all this love and generosity, I will write up a full breakdown of the numbers and exactly what goes where!
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<div>THE FINAL FINAL COUNTDOWN— Y’all make me cry happy. I had planned to end the fundraiser today, but we have donors still reaching out to see how they can help! Friends from Puerto Rico held a fundraiser at Ola Lola’s Tiki Bar in Isabella, PR last night and they raised hundreds of dollars (maybe more?!) for our cause!
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<div>THE FINAL COUNTDOWN— I know I have a few more donations coming in before we finish this fundraiser, but I wanted to give you all a summary of what we have accomplished already!
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<div>We have purchased (and JUST received) the Starlink Kit for the Cruso Fire and Rescue. We found a donor willing to part with a used Starlink kit and send it to the Cruso Community Center (still pending). We have transferred $781.07 each to the Cruso Fire and Rescue Squad and the Cruso Community Center. And there are still more donations coming in!
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<div>At this time we are still discovering more and more about our situation. It seems likely that the community center will end up being used as a temporary school again, as it was after the flood in 2021. After we fund Starlink subscriptions for these two community resources, all additional funds will go towards the school.
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<div>UPDATE: I’m talking with a private donor now who is trying to arrange to ship their Starlink unit to the community center here in Cruso! We are getting there folks! But we’re not at the finish line just yet. This morning, I am going over to the fire department and the community center to deliver the donations which we have already received. But I am going to leave the fundraiser up until Friday at midnight (west coast). I would really, REALLY like to reach our goal for a couple reasons. 1. Because that money will support two amazing local resources. 2. It will provide an example, for our elected representatives, of how people CAN work together to do good.
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<div>UPDATE 3: We are still working toward that $5000 goal. I know that we are all exhausted by the constant stream of terrible news, but this isn’t meant to be a reminder of that—this is the GOOD news. We are taking care of business and making sure that our first responders can receive calls for rescue, medical assistance, and fire response. YOUR contributions have already purchased the necessary equipment! I’m asking for a little bit more to fund the first year of the starlink subscription for these vital community resources. If we can get to $3600, then we have funded the fire and rescue squad subscription for an entire year. If we get to $5000, then we’ve funded both the rescue squad and the community center for a year!
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<div>UPDATE 2: Wow! We now have enough to pay for Starlink at both the Cruso Fire and Rescue Station as well as a Starlink for the Cruso Community Center. These resources will provide vital communications for first responders as well as a central location and means for the community to contact their families and loved ones. We are now looking to pay for the monthly subscriptions for these units to ensure that these folks can USE this important equipment! Thank you so much!
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<div>UPDATE: with all the donations coming in, I have been able to ahead and order the equipment for the fire station. Let’s keep em coming so we can ensure that they have the equipment and that the monthly bill is taken care of.
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<div>POST: I'm Ken Galbreath, and I live in Cruso, NC. Our volunteer fire and rescue has been busting their asses trying to keep us safe, but they have had to do so with little to no communications. <strong>I am raising money to buy a Starlink, the mounting hardware, the long cable, and an additional mesh node so they have WiFi coverage on both levels of their Headquarters.</strong>
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<div>At this time, they are using a borrowed Starlink system, but I could only do a temporary setup for them.
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<div>If we can raise the money to buy the system, I will install it and set it up.
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<div><strong>Any money beyond the initial goal will be used for a Starlink system for the Cruso Community Center and to cover the monthly fee for the first little bit.</strong>
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Anonymous

The Generous People of Puerto Rico

Deborah Dupuis

Ron Tull

Edgardo Alvarado

Nicholas Klein

Charles Lowry

Ryan Yonce

Emily Barnes

Derek Ross

Pia Dalal

Brooke Quintana

Kayla Monday

Brittany Bible

John Ellis

Marilyn Kohl

Megan Walstra

Walt and Holley

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