Ways to Support Western North Carolina
East Fork’s home is Western North Carolina. Our mountain community is forever changed. Entire towns have been swept down river, right now we’re hearing that the City of Asheville won’t have water for weeks if not longer. East Fork’s facilities are currently without power or water, and our Asheville-based team members are focused on meeting their basic needs.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the community has banded together for survival — sharing food and water, bringing in essential supplies from nearby cities, carrying out welfare checks on those without cell reception. And leading the charge on those recovery efforts are non-profit organizations like our community partners Poder Emma, BeLoved Asheville and Equal Plates Project.
Through our community partner program, we form relationships with local grassroots organizations year-round to leverage our platform and resources to help achieve a more equitable world. In 2024, we used belonging as our guiding principle when choosing organizations to form relationships with because we know how vital it is for everyone to feel safe and rooted in their identities, homes and communities. Since the storm, thousands of homes have been lost, but our local partners are working tirelessly to ensure that no one loses their sense of community.
Your purchases and contributions in the days since the storm has passed have raised over $120K that will go directly to the grassroots organizations on the ground getting aid and supplies to our region's most impacted folks. Thank you so much for showing up for Western North Carolina and East Fork.
Read on to learn more about the relief and support Poder Emma, BeLoved Asheville and Equal Plates Project are offering Western North Carolina right now and how your donations have aided their efforts.
Poder Emma
Poder Emma, along with Colaborativa La Milpa, are gathering essential resources to deliver directly to families in need in the Emma community, especially those living in mobile home parks. In the early days since the storm has passed, Poder Emma has been able to reach around 3,000 people a day and is aiming to get to even more. Through collaboration with local organizations like Únete, Umoja, Operation Gateway, Tierra Fértil, and Tepeyac Mountain Sanctuary, they’re working tirelessly to expand relief efforts and ensure that no one is left behind. Poder Emma is accepting supply and monetary donations at the link below to continue to support their own through this crisis.
Stay up to date on how you can support Poder Emma on their Instagram.
Learn more Poder Emma’s history and mission
BeLoved Asheville
BeLoved Asheville jumped in immediately to provide essential aid to support those affected most by Hurricane Helene. They are working round the clock to provide basic necessities to those in the community that do not have access to things like food, water, diapers, formula, cooking supplies, hygiene products, and so much more. From the beginning, Beloved has been boots-on-the-ground, caring for our city and will continue to do so to care for the most vulnerable.
BeLoved is accepting monetary donations as well as supply donations at 32 Old Charlotte Hwy in Asheville. They are also looking for volunteers if you are in the area and able.
Follow BeLoved Asheville on Instagram for updates and current needs.
PayPal: BeLovedAsheville
Venmo: @BeLoved-Asheville
Learn more about BeLoved’s history and mission
Equal Plates Project
Equal Plates Project’s goal in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene is getting as many meals as possible out to those affected by the storm. Through partnering with local farmers who can provide produce, meat and water and a network of volunteers in the kitchen, Equal Plates has been pumping out almost 1,000 meals a day to support direct aid in Western North Carolina. Equal Plates and their volunteers are set up in the kitchen of Central United Methodist Church in Downtown Asheville preparing nourishing, hot meals to be distributed in partnership with Food Connection, Poder Emma, the Healthy Opportunity Pilot and more.
To continue donating thousands of meals to the community in need, Equal Plates needs funding to purchase ingredients from local farmers and acquire equipment for scaled production and volunteers to help in the kitchen. Donate and get involved at the link below.
Keep up with Equal Plates’ work and current needs on their Instagram.
Get involved
Donate
Learn more about Equal Plate’s history and mission
