Hi friends and family - as you know, there has been significant damage from Helene here in western NC. In the foothills, Burke County NC has been declared part of the official major disaster area, where residents faced tropical storm winds, rains, and significant flooding as the rivers rose with water coming down from the mountains.

In Morganton, John and I are applying our knowledge of hurricane response and recovery gained from our experience helping prepare for, lead, and coordinate community-level response and recovery efforts from two direct hurricane impacts at the NC coast in 2018 and 2019.

It will take time for formal relief to arrive and for organized efforts to show up. In the meantime, those who can are pitching in on the ground. As we see immediate needs here in central Morganton NC, we will address them - supplying water, gasoline, tarps and lumber to secure them, moisture meters, etc. There is more expense than the two of us can cover out of pocket ourselves, as John is on a fixed income and I am stepping away from my paid work to assist neighbors through the claims process with insurance adjusters and FEMA.

I will apply all donations to efforts on the ground - either enacted by us, our friends or neighbors, or supporting the helpers. We don’t need to raise a lot, as I’m sure physical donations will soon arrive. If this effort raises more than we need to spend, we will distribute the balance to Morganton residents living below the poverty line.

So far, money has gone out for:

I will update this list as we meet more needs.