Rebuild Celo: Urgent help needed after Hurricane Helene!

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$2,875 raised of $40K

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Rebuild Celo: Urgent help needed after Hurricane Helene!

Brieanna Bates is organizing this fundraiser.

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Dear friends and family and greater community,

I am a Celo resident on Lower Browns Creek Rd and on behalf of my community I’ve created this fundraiser because Celo has been devastated by Hurricane Helene. This fundraiser is to support residents and get funds to them as soon as possible for aid to be distributed as effectively as possible where most needed.

Please consider making a donation if you are able and please share this fundraiser with those you know who might want to support this community as well. Any amount makes a difference and is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

If you have ever been to Celo, you know that these are the kindest people and this community is so wholesome and they are powerfully connected to one another. These are the kinds of people and community worth saving. I'll write more about the long and rich history of this community in the updates area.

Yancey County and its South Toe Valley (where Celo is) is one of the hardest hit areas with absolute devastation. This area experienced the eye of the storm and the most massive dumping of rain, at 26-30 inches of rain within only 4 hours. The South Toe river rose 27 feet and hundreds upon hundreds of homes along the river and creeks are completely gone- full homes floating down the river, sometimes with people inside of them screaming for help. There is still no power, no cell signal, and no clean drinking water and the valley has largely been isolated from outside aid due to major roads and bridges out getting destroyed. Estimates on power being restored is 3-5 more weeks. And there is sewage mud everywhere and mold is becoming a growing issue. Until three days ago the only way resources could come in or people rescued out was by helicopter or treacherous long hikes over steep terrain full of piles of hundreds of fallen trees, landslides, fragments of what used to be roads, thick mud and debris. THE GOOD NEWS: Now that locals have managed to clear a single lane road out toward Burnsville for 4 wheel drive vehicles to bring in emergency supplies to Celo! THE GOOD and BAD NEWS: Of the homes that are flooded but salvageable neighbors are coming together to help completely gut them, removing drywall and insulation so that they can dry out as much as possible, but at this point mold in people's flooded homes and elsewhere is becoming a major health hazard alongside the raw sewage.

More than anything, people need urgent relief aid now, and this money will help them while they wait for assistance from Red Cross/FEMA. Due to this area being so rural and accessibility more challenging, the aid efforts from county, state, and national agencies are falling short compared to aid for large cities like Asheville, or even the nearest small town to Celo- Burnsville. So it is the locals of Celo who need direct aid the most from caring people versus agencies, to support funds to directly acquire and run in supplies that they specifically need on a daily basis from here on out.

I am working alongside multiple people in the community who are now spearheading these disaster relief efforts in mutual aid grassroots-style, driving in and out of Celo to do supply runs every day from here forward. None of us are taking any pay for our efforts- 100% of the donations are going directly to purchasing supplies and materials to help whoever needs it the most in Celo. We've begun bringing in much needed generators, gas, and mold remediation and sanitation supplies.

-UPDATE 10/4-

Most needed relief supplies at the moment are headlamps, generators, gas, diesel, rice, and beans. There is also a large need for ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) to be purchased or loaned, in order to regularly bring resources to elderly and disabled persons who live further away from the two main aid distribution hubs. Other needs are simple demolition tools, like hammers and crowbars, and protective masks and gloves.

My heart is so tied to this community that I've personally donated $3,500 to cover these supplies that were driven in on 10/1:

-2 generators-gas-propane

-chainsaw oil, bar oil

-n 95 masks (for protection from mold exposure and chainsaw work)

-eye protection (20 pairs of clear glasses for chainsaw work)

-ear protection (20 pairs of ear plugs)

-6 propane flame torches

-2 industrial heat guns

-small green propane bottles for cooking stoves and propane torches

-5 lighters

-3 gallons of white vinegar

-2 gallons of bleach

-5 spray bottles

-tons of nitrile/rubber cleaning gloves, both disposable and reusable kinds

-10 towels

-2 hammers

-2 crowbars

-battery powered lights

-multi outlet plugs

That may not sound like much, and A LOT more is needed, but people are SO GRATEFUL.

So these things and other emergency and medical supplies is what any donated funds would go to immediately, and then in time if any funds are left they will be used to help rebuild infrastructure in the form of materials like 2x4s, drywall, insulation, gravel for driveways, well and septic repairs, and other basic infrastructure needs. I will post weekly updates from here on out for what funds are being used for.

May your homes and loved ones remain safe, and again, thank you for taking the time to read this and for any support and please do share this with others who may be able to help.

Thank you for your kind consideration, your uplift, your prayers, all of your support.

In gratitude,

Brieanna Bates

PS: To really paint a picture of the full gravity of this catastrophe, I am going to share the words of Greene County, Tennessee local John Kitsteiner, because he has done such an eloquent job at describing what has happened. (And to further put things into context, the area he is describing was hit far less badly than just to the east, where Celo is located within the Appalachian Mountains):

And because pictures speak a thousand words, here are just a few examples of the devastation: