WNC Hurricane Benefit Concert Raises $7K
A Sugar Grove mother and daughter owned small business saw a need and got to work.
Two months have gone by since hurricane Helene tore through Watauga County NC, yet in some areas, it looks like it was just yesterday. Homes in communities west of Boone including Cove Creek, Vilas, Valle Crucis and Sugar Grove have lasting destruction from raging waters and landslides, families are still displaced, leaving some to live in campers and tents. Scenes of homes along the Watauga River ripped from their foundations, flooded out, abandoned and gutted, collapsed roads, rivers full of floating trash, cars and debris, the landscape forever changed, thousands of trees wiped out along mountainsides, are still a daily sight for local residents. It is as if the presence of Helene has been stopped in time and cleanup has yet to begin. For residents in these small communities, the healing won’t begin until the constant reminders of Helene have been cleaned up.
With so much lasting destruction and families that have lost everything, Karen Holt of Sugar Grove and owner of Blowing Rock Creations decided to put together a fundraiser to raise money for local families that were impacted by the destruction of Helene. With the help of her daughter and business partner, Sarah Campbell, they planned and organized a benefit concert with live music, raffle prizes and food trucks, taking place the Sunday before Thanksgiving. In collaboration with local musicians, business owners, family and friends the community came together.
Owners of Firerock Station, Craig and Kelly Doughty, donated the use of their venue for the benefit. Featured local musicians that donated their time and talents for the cause were Rodney Farthing, Christina & Chip, The Rutherwood Ramblers, The Dawgful Dead and Pete Welter as the emceee. Many local NC businesses donated raffle prizes; TriangleBNB, Holt’s Trucking & Excavating, Peace of Mind Cleaning Co., Blowing Rock Creations, fizzEd, 180 Float Spa, Pepper’s Restaurant, Eleven 80 Eatery, Bocca Bistro, and Peabody’s. Local food trucks that were on site, Los Arcoiris and The Tasty Traveler, donated a portion of their sales for the cause. Total donations from attendees resulted in $7K. All the donations will go directly into the hands of local families that were identified through the local school.
This was a community driven fundraiser without assistance from government officials or agencies that seem to hold resources hostage while those in need wade through the ‘red tape’ process of getting immediate and direct assistance. An example is in money donated by an individual or business to the state’s disaster relief fund which is then funneled to United Way NC. United Way NC then filters the money as grants to non-profits that they approve and in the end the non-profits decide who gets the donations. So far $14 million has been donated to this particular disaster relief fund for Helene recovery.
Cleanup and rebuilding has been slow in western Watauga County and will take years upon years. The cost of damages and available resources have exceeded the capabilities of what NC can handle on their own. On October 9th, NC legislatures approved $273 million for Helene disaster relief aid. A second round of $604 million in aid was approved by legislatures on October 25th through Senate Bill 743. On the local level, the Watauga County Board of Commissioners voted to adopt a proposed Grant Project Ordinance for Hurricane Helene Disaster Relief in the amount of $10 million.
Additionally, the NC General Assembly proposed a third round of aid within Senate Bill 382 to approve transferring an additional $227 million from the state’s Savings Reserve to the Helene Fund. These funds would remain unspent until appropriated by the General Assembly for a specific need. The bill was vetoed by Governor Cooper due to objections on other provisions within the bill. However, on Dec. 1st, the NC Senate voted to override Cooper's veto and now awaits the House votes for the final override. All three rounds of relief bills are being funded through the state’s Savings Reserve, which contains approximately $4.47 billion.
NC Governor Cooper estimates Helene damages of $53 billion and is requesting $25.57 billion in federal aid to support recovery. As of 11/5 the federal government, under the Biden-Harris Administration, has approved $2.7 billion for Helene relief efforts for the effected states. Of that, $202 million was allocated to FEMA for debris clean up and emergency protective measures in NC. The Biden-Harris Admin has committed to pay for 100% of the debris cleanup for up to 6 months. Watauga County has contracted with SDR to remove debris from the NCDOT right of ways.
Biden is now seeking further emergency disaster relief funds from Congress in the amount of $100 billion. The Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) that funds FEMA is facing a $6.4 billion shortfall this year and had already put projects on delay earlier this year. FEMA was still funding past storms, floods, hurricanes, fires, COVID19 ($144 billion committed) and US border sheltering aid when Helene hit causing them to further delay spending on those projects to prioritize Helene aid. FEMA has spent approximately $4.9 billion on the Helene response and recovery. In effect FEMA is discharging one debt to collect on another, “robbing Peter to pay Paul”. If Congress approves the $100 billion aid package, $40 billion will go to FEMA.
It is clear that FEMA’s emergency management role has expanded since its creation in 1979 and currently seems to be an unsustainable agency tasked in dealing with federally declared disasters. One recent addition under FEMA is to administer $800 million from the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act for a new Shelter and Services Program to support Customs and Border Protection in processing noncitizens and preventing overcrowding in holding facilities. This Shelter and Services Program will replace the funding provided as part of FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP). EFSP is the only DHS grant program that has given funding to nonprofits that provide resources such as food, shelter, and transportation to noncitizens.
Additionally, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is out of funds for small business loans due to hurricanes Helene and Milton, Biden will allocate $2 billion of the $100 billion to the SBA if approved by Congress.