ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Out of all of the charity drives, benefit shows and donation hubs that have come to the aid of Western North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the sold-out Concert for Carolina may have been the highest profile.
Background
Concert for Carolina was held on Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. and attended by over 82,000 people.
The event was quadruple-headlined by country music stars Luke Combs and Eric Church, bluegrass musician Billy Strings and award-winning singer-songwriter James Taylor. The lineup was rounded out with appearances by The Avett Brothers, Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban, Bailey Zimmerman, Scotty McCreery, Chase Rice, Parmalee and more. Nicole Kidman even took the stage in a surprise appearance.
It was a massive show with a gigantic promise attached: 100% of the proceeds would go to support Helene relief efforts across WNC.
Where the money went
Combs and Church selected five beneficiary charities to receive the funds, including MANNA Foodbank, Second Harvest Foodbank of Northwest NC, Samaritan’s Purse, Eblen Charities and Church’s own charity, Chief Cares.
According to presenting sponsor Explore Asheville, the event had raised $24,513,185 by the following Tuesday, Oct. 29.
The money came from a livestream viewed 7.1 million times, the tickets sold to the show and a silent auction of sports items, band merch and other memorabilia.
That $24.5 million was then distributed between the five charities for use in their individual efforts to mitigate the damage caused by Helene.
What the money was used for
According to Eblen Charities executive director Brian Hall, the organization received their infusion of funding in November. Since then, Eblen has spent a lot of time administering aid in Swannanoa, a community hit especially hard by Helene.
“We are helping those that are in need of rental assistance, that are in need of heat through propane,” Hall said. “I just helped a group out in Swannanoa this morning with a $10,000 check that’s giving away free propane and cylinders for those that are in the trailers and trying to stay warm with their generators and heaters.”
Hall said that Eblen has a few other initiatives planned in Swannanoa, like helping to rebuild houses and getting funds to “boots on the ground” laborers.
“We’re continuing to help everybody every day,” Hall said. “Those concert funds are part of our funds that we have here, it makes up a good part of it. It’s definitely helping us to get those in need taken care of throughout this winter.”
Second Harvest, meanwhile, is a charity based in Winston-Salem.
Second Harvest CEO Eric Aft wrote in an email that based on what the organization knows about the extent to which Helene impacted WNC mountain and foothills communities, they project investing more resources than usual into the region for the next 18 to 20 months.
That’s over a year and a half of recovery time.
Second Harvest serves 18 counties, including Ashe, Watauga, Wilkes, Caldwell, Alleghany and Alexander, all of which were impacted by the storm. As of the second week of December, the charity reported that it had delivered over 100,000 ready-made meals and distributed 81,000 pounds of fresh food. They have secured equipment including generators, refrigerators, shelving, chainsaws, wood-chippers and log-splitters for their communities.
All of it, to date, has cost over $1.1 million.
“Concert for Carolina has provided us $2,230,683 to support this vital work,” Aft wrote. “In addition to the other resources we secured, this critical funding will enable us to sustain the necessary, enhanced assistance that is required for many months to come to support of our neighbors recovering from Helene.”
One of those neighbors is Second Harvest sister charity MANNA Foodbank, where thousands of pounds of food has been purchased through the funding provided by Concert for Carolina.
In another corner of WNC, Samaritan’s Purse, a charity based in Boone, has been serving the High Country.
“Funds designated to Hurricane Helene efforts have helped thousands of families across hurricane-affected communities with disaster relief,” wrote Samaritan’s Purse media relations manager Stephen Sneed in an email. “Now, our rebuild efforts are underway, and we have plans to help 1,000 families return home by building 500 homes and replacing 500 mobile homes in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.”
In addition to the Samaritan’s Purse plans to rebuild and replace homes, the charity has been providing campers for temporary housing. They have also replaced vehicles, appliances and furniture for families in need of them, Sneed said.
Much of this relief came from the money raised by Concert for Carolina. However, as Second Harvest and a quick glance around the region will tell you, recovery for WNC has a long road ahead.
For more information about how to donate to Hurricane Helene relief efforts, visit www.nccommunityfoundation.org, an organization partnered with the State of North Carolina’s Disaster Relief Fund.