In the hours right after Helene passed through, Sam Iatarola, a language arts teacher and head of community engagement at French Broad River Academy (FBRA) in Asheville, began working with longtime friend Lance Buskey to mobilize members of the region’s outdoors, rescue and paddling communities for relief efforts, and the Hurricane Helene WNC initiative was born.

With normal school operations suspended due to the storm, FBRA’s South Campus and its Maria Noakes Outdoor Center became the base of operations for the mission to deliver vital resources to people in hard-hit, hard-to-reach and underserved areas. Sam and Lance, as well as the FBRA staff, worked tirelessly in the days after the storm, receiving and organizing donations, coordinating volunteers and delivery of essential supplies, utilizing the school’s entire fleet of vans to distribute goods directly to drop sites, conducting wellness checks and facilitating evacuations. At some points they had to hike, kayak, or take ATVs, dirt bikes and helicopters into inaccessible places. Through the school’s Salamander Fund, FBRA is acting as fiscal sponsor for Hurricane Helene WNC and its Helene Rebuild Collaborative (HRC).

In the first 28 days of the mission, HRC had raised nearly $300,000, dispatched more than 600 missions into 14 counties in WNC and East Tennessee, and hosted more than 1,000 volunteers, including current FBRA students and families, alumni, and allies of the school, as well as helpers from as far away as Utah, Idaho and Texas.

The school’s South Campus, home to the Girls Program, and North Campus, home to the Boys Program, sit alongside the French Broad River between Asheville and Woodfin. Classroom buildings on both campuses were spared by the flooding and wind damage, but the campus grounds were littered with storm debris, and the school lost approximately $90,000 in outdoor gear and other equipment. Recovery and cleanup continue. —Will Yeiser, Co-Founder and Executive Director

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In the aftermath of Helene, I experienced a loss of clients. With more pressing concerns, cleaning has taken a back seat for many. Fortunately, this has created availability in my schedule to offer outstanding service. The daily display of love and support I see is truly heartening. It reminds me of the sense of unity that prevailed on September 12, 2001, when people came together in a spirit of harmony and kindness. Where my family lives, in a development in Fletcher, the resilience and collective strength of our neighbors was truly inspiring. Neighbors gathered outdoors, and we established meaningful connections with new friends, sharing resources, grills, food, firewood and firepits. We socialized with heartfelt laughter and tears. We strengthened our bonds with compassion and love. —Helen Dixon, Owner

Due to the water shortages and not having potable water, we rented porta-potties and purchased large amounts of water so we could open. We are using 5-gallon jugs with electric pumps for hand-washing stations. We designed each of our treatment rooms with a closed-water system so we do not directly tie in to the city plumbing. We use water we have purchased to fill each treatment room. Since we’ve have had water restored to our business, we no longer need the porta-potties, but because it is not potable water, we still must bring in fresh water.

Zoe Dental has been committed to providing support for those in need over the years. We made the decision to open some appointment times to help disaster-relief workers and patients displaced from the storm with free emergency dental care. We have committed to providing this free emergency dental care through the end of the year. We will be working with the ABCCM Veterans Restoration Quarters (VRQ) to provide free dentistry for the veterans in their program. (We help the VRQ every year.) Seeing our neighbors and community come together has reinforced that we live in a special place.

It was special to see Zoe Dental team members exhibiting servant leadership in the community and their own neighborhoods after the storm. I am so blessed to work with so many amazing people. If you know a disaster-relief worker or displaced community member who has any emergency dental needs, give them our contact information so we can serve them at no cost. 
 —Dr. Perry Stamatiades, Owner and Biltmore Park resident

All of our offices experienced temporary outages of power, water and telecommunications. Within a week of the storm, we successfully restored power and water at three of our seven locations, as well as temporary data connectivity at one office, allowing us to reopen those branches promptly. As services and connectivity were gradually restored at our other locations, we were able to reopen them and continue providing service to our members.

Our Member Relief Fund exists for moments like this. The catastrophic impact of Hurricane Helene has been heartbreaking: lives and homes lost, families displaced, and essential services disrupted. We relaunched our Member Relief Fund, which is available to our members across all nine counties we serve who have experienced significant damage, leaving their home temporarily or permanently uninhabitable. Through these difficult times, we’ve seen incredible acts of kindness and strength — people stepping up to help their neighbors, friends and even strangers. We are inspired by how the community has come together, showing the true definition of being WNC Strong. —Lorinda Whaley, Director of Member Experience