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Originally posted here by the The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina.

Grants totaling $3,341,100 were awarded last week from The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina (CFWNC)’s Emergency and Disaster Response Fund to support continuing relief and recovery services in Western North Carolina. With this round, more than $12.8 million has been awarded to nonprofit organizations across 18 counties, including the Qualla Boundary.

A $2,000,000 grant was awarded to Lutheran Disaster Response Carolinas, a ministry of the North Carolina Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) to partner with Mennonite Disaster Service in rebuilding private bridges destroyed by the hurricane. The project will prioritize the hardest hit areas in Avery, Mitchell, Yancey, Madison, Rutherford, and Buncombe counties and bridges that impact multiple families or critically vulnerable persons. An estimated 5,000 private bridges were damaged by the storm.

“Lutheran Disaster Response and Mennonite Disaster Service have the track record and expertise to respond to this need and are set to break ground on the first bridge in January,” said CFWNC President Elizabeth Brazas. “They are in communication with local leadership and have support to process permits needed to avoid delays.”

A key component of this project is to retain and employ the Mennonite Disaster Service standard of bridge building. Their engineering expertise and steel beam and wood plank system will ensure that these bridges can withstand more weather events.

“We are enormously grateful for the generous grant from CFWNC in support of our Bridging Together partnership with Mennonite Disaster Service, stated the Rev. Ray Sipe and the Rev. Ruth Ann Sipe, coordinators of Lutheran Disaster Response Carolinas. “A gift of this size will allow us to help many families get home safely.”

Additional important recovery works continues. This grant cycle also includes:

$250,000 to Centro Unido Latino-Americano to provide continued direct assistance to individuals and families affected by the hurricane and to support them in stabilizing their housing in McDowell, Buncombe, Burke, and Mitchell counties.

$280,000 to Buncombe Partnership for Children to support re-opening costs at eight childcare facilities that are currently inoperable due to facility damage caused by the storm.

$142,600 to Blue Ridge Partnership for Children to assist with costs that will help seven childcare facilities in Avery, Mitchell, and Yancey counties reopen.

$59,800 to Western North Carolina Regional Educational Foundation to create a temporary position assisting WNC School systems in assessing and prioritizing needs arising during recovery and researching and coordinating groups to help meet those needs.

If you wish to support aid to those affected by the storm, you can donate online to the Emergency and Disaster Response Fund. Administrative fees are waived so that every dollar goes directly to assistance.

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The learn more about the Bridging Together project or give directly to LDR Carolinas or the Mennonite Disaster Service click here.

We are looking for two people experienced in disaster response, through volunteer coordination or construction and building repairs,  to join our team in part-time positions!  

The Response Coordinator will work with volunteers and our partners to help organize the work of LDR Carolinas in South Carolina.  A copy of the job description is available here.  

The Project Coordinator will work with case managers and our partners to plan and complete repair projects in South Carolina.  A copy of the job description is available here.  

If you are interested in either position, please send your resume to Emily Lemoine, either by email or mail to LDR Carolinas, 1988 Lutheran Synod Drive, Salisbury NC 28144.  Contact Ruth Ann Sipe with questions.   

Several individuals and congregations have asked how we can help provide some Christmas cheer for families impacted by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina.  We had an idea, but wanted to follow our own advice to not just send stuff without determining what was actually needed.  So we reached out to the ELCA pastors from Hendersonville to Boone for information about how we could best support families in their communities.

We learned that our idea of sending gift cards would work well in some areas, but not as well in others.  Some congregations are already planning to work with social ministry programs in their communities, and a partner organization has plans to provide special parties at local schools.  As a result, we are offering multiple suggestions about how we can all work together to help provide Christmas gifts to others who are struggling after the storm, in both North and South Carolina.

1. Provide gift cards ($25 per card) that can be used to purchase food, fuel, tools or home repair supplies, or other gift items. Suggested retailers include Ingles, Aldi’s, or Food Lion; Speedway or Shell; Lowes or Home Depot; Walmart or Target; or Visa gift cards.
2. Make financial donations to LDR Carolinas (designated for Christmas).  These donations will be distributed to congregations to assist community organizations already planning Angel Trees, Blessing Bags, or other programs in their local communities. 
3. While we already have several hundred Children’s Comfort Kits on hand, one of our NCVOAD (North Carolina Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) partners would like to distribute them at several school events in December, so we can use even more.

Please let us know if you plan to participate in one of these ways.  Whatever you choose, please make sure your gift or donation will arrive by Friday, December 13.

You can make donations online here. 

Send checks or gift cards to LDR Carolinas at the NC Synod office (1988 Lutheran Synod Drive, Salisbury NC 28144) for distribution.

Deliver Children’s Comfort Kits to the NC Synod office or one of these congregations which are serving as collection points:

              Good Shepherd,  Raleigh NC

              Zion, Hickory NC

              Zion, Lexington SC