KINDNESS IN ACTION - FALL 2025

Sometimes it feels like a year, sometimes it feels like yesterday. As we approach the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene, I hope that this newsletter finds you in a place of peace, hope and recovery. It was a busy summer for all of us here at Eblen. We continued serving our clients with rental assistance to prevent evictions in close to 600 homes. We kept the power on, and the water running for over 200 households, outfitted just over 900 children with new backpacks and school supplies, and expanded our Helene recovery outreach to Yancey County with a $100,000 investment in rebuilding homes in that hard hit area. Most importantly, we gave out lots of hugs, and we helped turn tears of sadness into tears of happiness.

As we are now officially in the Fall season, you will see a list below of some of the activities that we have planned. It's our busiest time of the year as we prepare to serve the community with winter coats, Thanksgiving meals, and toys under the tree for families in need. We simply cannot do all this work without your help. We've given out over $4.5 million in assistance since Helene hit last Fall, and unfortunately the need is not slowing down. The phone rings all day, emails and messages come in, and people walk through our doors each day looking for a friendly face and a helping hand. If you have given to us in the past, I thank you so much and know that your contribution has helped so many here in WNC. However, we are at a critical point in time as the need is still so great and our funds are now down to pre-Helene levels. We want to be able to continue helping our community rebuild from the storm, and make sure we are able to help our clients with our much-needed programs. The QR code below will take you right to our donation page on our site. If you are able, please think about helping us today with a contribution. We can't do it without you!

Wishing you a safe, happy and healthy Fall!    

Brian