As many of you know many areas of Zone 3 have been hard hit by Hurricane Helene. Many members live in the hard-hit areas have been with out of power, water, and even cellphone service. Yes, recently many of those vital services have been restored. A number of towns in the affected area no longer exist. The need is still great! I have reached out to all Zone 3 region presidents asking which areas are in need of support. I did receive response from three regions, Appalachian, Tennessee, and Wilderness Trail Regions asking for donations to different charities. If you can please donate to these charities. As I get more information on needs, I will pass it along. The recovery will take years, not days!
Appalachian Region
I am receiving many requests from PCA members and regions on how they can help. We are suggesting that they donate to the area’s largest Food Bank and Appalachian Region’s main charity partner, MANNA Foodbank (https://www.mannafoodbank.org/#), a member of Feeding America. MANNA serves over 200 partner food banks in the 16 counties of Western North Carolina.
If you would like to make a donation to MANNA Foodbank on behalf of yourselves or PCA, here is the link to a donation page. Please note PCA/Porsche Club in the comments. : https://4agc.com/donation_pages/1c613dbe-af31-470d-96d1-68e542e56201. Please note that Appalachian Region was in the midst of a Fall Festival fundraiser for MANNA so the landing page is Fall festival focused but funds will go to MANNA for disaster relief.
Appalachian Region is based in Asheville, North Carolina, that was hard-hit by Hurricane Helene. No one thought that the beautiful far-inland mountain town of Asheville, North Carolina would be so devasted by a Hurricane. Most roads have become impassable and entire towns surrounding Asheville, such as Chimney Rock were wiped off the map.
One casualty was the MANNA FoodBank warehouse that sits on the banks of the Swannanoa River. It was totally devasted at a time that so many will be depending on MANNA for food and water.
MANNA links to over 200 partner food pantries in the 16 Western North Carolinas counties that were hard hit by Hurricane Helene. MANNA is a member of Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger relief organization.
If you are looking for a way to help victims of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina, a donation to MANNA FoodBank will help get food and water throughout the entire area. Here is a link https://4agc.com/donation_pages/1c613dbe-af31-470d-96d1-68e542e56201
to donate to MANNA FoodBank through a Fall Festival fundraising effort that Appalachian Region had underway when disaster struck. (If you make a donation, please indicate in comments PCA/Porsche Club)
Wilderness Trail Region
For Wilderness Trail, who have seen devastation in counties where we have coverage, we decided to double down on the charity campaign we were just getting started on.
Many families in our area have seen their homes and businesses washed away or buried under water and mud. Among those most impacted are the students of David Crockett High School, many of whom were already facing financial difficulties. In light of these recent events, the need to support these students has become even more urgent.
These students need all the support they can get as they try to rebuild their lives and focus on their education in the aftermath of this disaster.
To anyone interested in donating, they can make a donation via the following link: https://www.zeffy.com/ticketing/dfa0287c-e086-4bef-87eb-fe90c39056ab
Each “ticket” on this link above represents a $10 donation, but to contribute more, just select more tickets. Charity receipts will be automatically issued through the donation platform.
Important Note: During the checkout process, Zeffy, the payment platform, will suggest an additional donation to support their platform. We recommend selecting “OTHER” and then $0 to ensure all contributions go directly to the cause.
Please note that Zeffy has 17% processing fee, so you may want to consider sending a check to the Wilderness Trail Region at the address listed below
Alternatively, a donation can be made via check to: Wilderness Trail Region PCA 136 W Main St. Kingsport, TN 37660.
Tennessee Region
Another relief organization you may want to consider is Samaritan’s Purse. This is an international organization headquartered in hard hit Boone, NC.
https://www.samaritanspurse.org/ “Many communities in the High Country of North Carolina and far eastern Tennessee are cut off by damaged roads, downed trees, and flooding. Samaritan’s Purse is coordinating air relief to some of these locations—delivering basic necessities to those in dire straits using our own helicopter as well as the aircraft of other organizations. We are working through various local contacts, including our Operation Christmas Child partner churches, to identify those who are suffering and then to respond as requested. We praise God we have been able to deliver much food, water, and other relief to those isolated by the storm”.