Ways to Help Western North Carolina

At the end of September, Helene struck the western North Carolina mountains and foothills, where I am from.

I keep using the phrase “impossible to fathom,” because it is, as more stories come out, and as others disappear from the headlines. Still sinking in and I don’t know how to compress such a heavy, incomprehensible thing for a space like this. The feeling of the earth of your existence being ripped up in a surreal and awful instant.

Many of you reading this are also in this very particular mourning. Many others probably have never heard of lots of the teenier-tinier places, my home places, in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee that were devastated beyond belief. Posting this from New York, but my heart is in NC. On this page, I will keep reminding you about the mountains, and sharing stories and ways to give and help; always prioritizing mutual aid and other community-led and artist- and writer- and musician-led efforts. There are so many good people doing incredible and tough work. It's a long road. Thank you.

UNDERSTORY: A DIGITAL ZINE FOR RELIEF IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
I contributed a short piece and some photographs to Understory: a digital zine for relief in Western North Carolina, a beautiful endeavor featuring work by 87 writers and artists from WNC and beyond. Published by Loblolly Press, $10 a pop. All proceeds go to the grassroots local organization BeLoved Asheville, who continue to do key community aid.

FUNDRAISERS
Cardinals at the Window WNC a mammoth music compilation benefiting western NC Helene relief
Photography Print Sale by George Etheredge for WNC Hospitality Workers
The Humid fundraiser for Brother Wolf Animal Rescue

MUTUAL AID & COMMUNITY
Rural Organizing and Relief (ROAR) of WNC: Madison County based mutual aid with a focus on rural areas and communities.
MountainTrue: an environmental organization helping with recovery efforts and keeping people safe by testing for pollutants in streams, wells, and flood debris.
ReString Appalachia donating and rehabilitating instruments and getting them in the hands of western NC musicians
Industrial Commons collective hub for volunteer and donation resources in Burke County and western NC
Toe River Arts disaster recovery fund to get immediate funds into the hands of the arts organization’s Mitchell and Yancey artists
Adopt a Family in Western NC directly support a family affected by Helene
NC Arts Foundation Disaster Relief Fund
Downtown Spruce Pine, a nonprofit collecting and distributing funds to help locally owned businesses in Spruce Pine recover. PayPal here or check their website
Help the towns of Lake Lure, Bat Cave, and Chimney Rock, all decimated by Helene:
HelpMarshall.org, a hub for Marshall, NC community aid and relief efforts
Friends of Hot Springs Library donations on behalf of rebuild and relief efforts in Hot Springs; donate here
Penland School of Craft
Project Mama Bear disaster relief dispatch in Western NC: hub for volunteers, organizers, and those wishing to donate
Brother Wolf Animal Rescue
Bins for Burnsville to safely store and distribute donations throughout the mountains winter and onward
BeLoved Asheville a trusted grassroots community organization
Vecinos supporting farmworkers and uninsured adults in WNC; starting a disaster recovery initiative
Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy 
Centro Unido Latino Americano

LOCAL NEWS
Asheville Citizen-Times: https://www.citizen-times.com/
Watauga Democrat https://www.wataugademocrat.com/
Mountain Xpress https://mountainx.com
The Assembly has removed its paywall on all Hurricane Helene coverage: https://www.theassemblync.com/
Cherokee One Feather https://theonefeather.com/
Blue Ridge Public Radio: https://www.bpr.org/ and their list of places to donate
WNCW Spindale https://www.wncw.org/