|
On Friday, September 27th, Hurricane Helene barreled through our sleepy mountain town. No one was prepared for the devastation it would cause. Our area has not seen flooding like this in over 100 years. Western NC was hit extremely hard and will never look the same again. At one point, 95% of our area had no power and trees were down in record numbers, making it even harder for workers to get to the places they needed to start helping. In addition to power, cell towers went down, leaving no way to call or communicate, and local internet providers went down as well. The destruction is indescribable. The one bright spot is that our community has pulled together in a way I've never seen. There are so many helpful neighbors and new friends we've made through this. So many helpers who are now in our area are giving help where they can. Organizations donating their time to help cut trees and haul waste. Seeing all this after such sadness and loss has been a blessing.
Our business was fortunate to escape any damage, but on Sunday night, looters stole several items from outside our shop, including our internet equipment. Since we have satellite internet, they took all of our outdoor equipment, leaving us with no way to connect to the internet. We are currently collaborating with our provider to restore our internet connection, but given the other ongoing issues in the area, it may take a few more days.
Due to the internet issue, it is taking us much longer to ship packages. We kindly ask for your patience during this time. Please rest assured that we are making every effort to keep our business operational while also assisting our community members.
Lots of people have asked how they can help. There are lots of great organizations that are taking donations but there are also several small businesses and artists I know that have lost everything and need help as well. If you are looking for a small way to help, here are some links to people who could really use the help:
Suzanne Armstrong Studio in the River Arts District: https://gofund.me/c8ffeba4
Riverside Golf & RV Park: https://gofund.me/7f685baf
French Broad Chocolates: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/BYBzJo3iYSy5MZ64/
Lake Lure Adventure Company: https://gofund.me/cb6df86b
Emelie & Bressler in the River Arts District: https://gofund.me/bc9a6e7b
Bead Artist Kassie Shaw in Asheville: https://beadingbutterfly.com/
Kassie has also been posting lots of other helpful donation and help links on her Facebook Page which can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/beadg1rl
Many have asked how you can help me. Honestly the best way is to continue to support my business. Any purchases you can make over at www.offthebeadedpathbeadstore.com will help us greatly during this time.
| 
