HURRICANE HELENE RESOURCES AND SUPPORT

Communities across our region are devastated by the historic impact of Hurricane Helene. More than 100 lives have been lost, many more are still missing, and entire communities have been swept away in the floodwaters. The destruction is overwhelming. Our love and support is with everyone in the Southeast U.S. who is experiencing this tremendous loss. Members of our own staff remain without water and power in Western North Carolina, but we are grateful for their physical safety.

For folks both within and outside our region who are seeking resources to share or some way to support, we want to share what we have gathered so far. We welcome more information as mutual aid efforts continue to grow – please reach out to us so we can amplify the work on the ground and what is needed. Because the need is so vast, if you are in an impacted community and need information specific to your area, please reach out and we will do our best to connect you with support.

READ THE STAY PROJECT STATEMENT

TO SUPPORT:

 

RESOURCE GUIDES:

COMPREHENSIVE REGIONAL RESOURCE GUIDE FROM APPALACHIAN VOICES

Appalachians4Appalachia Resource Guide

Support Appalachia Resource Guide

WNC and Upstate SC Resource Guide from Carolina Farm Stewardship Association 

East TN Resource Guide from Tri-Cities Mutual Aid

Stay Together Appalachian Youth Resource Guide

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

North Carolina

Tennessee

 

Via 100 Days in Appalachia:

  • RISE Erwin is a community organization in Unicoi County, Tennessee. They are soliciting donations to help with flood relief in their community via a GoFundMe campaign. Click here to donate.

  • Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee is accepting donations of money and food. Click here to donate.

  • The Appalachia Service Project is a Christian mission dedicated to helping build and repair homes in our region. Click here to donate.

  • Tri-Cities Mutual Aid is a mutual aid group in northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia. Click here to donate.

  • The East Tennessee Foundation is accepting donations for flood recovery efforts. Click here to donate.

  • The Unicoi County Animal Shelter has an Amazon Wish List. You can click here to help them out. They also have this wish list on pet supply website Chewy. Click here to support them!

For folks in EKY seeking ways to support – from the Alliance for Appalachia:

If you go to Misty Skaggs’s personal FB page she is sharing all flood relief pages and organizations. I don’t know if you know Misty but she has been amazing when it comes to support areas throughout the whole Appalachia Region when it comes to anything and everything. 
 
Misty Skaggs Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kitsch.my.grits
(if you scroll through her FB she has tons of resources but I will share the highlights) 
 
Never formally worked with this group but they had some drop-off locations for supplies
 
AppalShop is doing the distress calls around the floods: https://www.facebook.com/Appalshop https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Gio8TUWFMMtThxUb/
 
good source worked with them personally
 
This google doc was shared by Crystal Wilkinson from App Voices which you may already have. 
 
Mutual Aid Disaster Relief 
 
Appalachians for Appalachia 
 
Renew Appalachia: this is a group that is locally in Martin Co that is planning on taking donations this Thursday if anyone in EKY wants to connect with them to drop off supplies 
 

Please reach out to help us update this list or if we can direct you to local support and mutual aid.

CEASEFIRE NOW: Take Action for Palestine

The Highlander Center is joining voices across the globe calling for an end to genocide and apartheid in Gaza and demanding a permanent ceasefire and end to occupation now.

Highlander joined 219 organizations April 30 in signing onto a statement to “stand in solidarity with the students nationwide and globally who are bravely protesting in encampments and otherwise to condemn Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza–actions which human rights organizations, a federal U.S. court, and the International Court of Justice have said “plausibly” constitute genocide.”

We also invite you to read this open letter on the student encampments and other global resistance efforts seeking liberation for Palestine from organizers with Equal Health’s Campaign Against Racism, inspired partially by their time at Highlander’s 90th Homecoming celebration.

Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson facilitated a Teach-In with the Rising Majority, “No to Genocide, No to War, Ceasefire Now!” featuring Dr. Barbara Ransby, the Palestinian Feminist Collective, Jewish Voice for Peace, UE150, Adalah Justice Project, Robin D.G. Kelley, and many more. It was a powerful session holding space for grief in song and poetry; sharing in-depth political education on the history, context, and current violence rooted in Zionism, apartheid, genocide and colonialism against Palestinians; and centering concrete action steps and organizing strategies to free Palestine that are part of a growing mass movement today.

We implore you to watch, share, and take action with organizations in your community and via these campaigns:

More Resources for Political Education and Organizing:

 

For Current Updates on Ongoing Actions, Follow these Social Media Accounts: