Western, North Carolina

Local organizations accepting donations for Western North Carolina hurricane relief:

The Rogue Initiative of Rogue Combat Club in Asheville

The United Methodist Church in Spruce Pine

Hospice and Home Care of the Blue Ridge

These organizations are working on the front lines to support those affected. This page will provide updates on their evolving needs, along with a current supply list to address the most urgent demands. Both locations now accept Amazon deliveries, so please consider sending your donations directly to help make a difference during this critical time.

Donations

You can make a direct impact by donating to the local Rogue Combat Club, led by Johnny Buck.

Or to the Hospice and Palliative Care of the Blue Ridge, a non-profit organization, is dedicated to serving vulnerable communities in Spruce Pine and the hardest-hit areas of Western North Carolina. E

very donation stays within Mitchell County, providing essential support to those most in need during this critical time

Updated Needs List

Most places are asking for donations to be limited to items listed on their specific needs list. They have been overwhelmed by the community's generosity, which has helped fulfill many needs. However, there are still critical gaps in specific areas.

COOKING SOURCES - camp stoves, gas grills, charcoal grills, charcoal, etc and fuel for them - firewood, propane, gasoline, matches, lighters, lighter fluid, etc

HEAT SOURCES - Little Buddy Heaters, etc, fuel for them, and firewood, matches, lighters,

LIGHT SOURCES - candles, kerosene lanterns with kerosene and mantles, flashlights & batteries, matches, lighters

POWER SOURCES - 220 generators and fuel to hard wire to wells for thousands of residents whose water is contaminated.

ALL LOCATIONS IN DIRE NEED OF COOKING, HEATING, LIGHTING, AND POWER SOURCES.

As the Hurricane Relief needs vary by location and change frequently, shopping the updated list ensures we can all get the most useful donations and get them quickly delivered to the areas that need them most. Most places are asking for donations to be limited to items listed on their specific needs list.

Updated Needs List by Location:

10/16/2024

Asheville, NC:

Drop off site: Rogue Combat Club, 1078 Tunnel Rd #A, Asheville, NC 28805

Drop off hours: 10 am - 3 pm daily

Contact: Johnny Buck (828) 231-4591

Donate: JohnBuck2 on Venmo

  • Propane

  • Charcoal

  • Lighter fluid

  • Firewood

  • Peroxide medical supplies

  • TP

  • Paper plates

  • Cutlery

  • Paper towels

  • Camp stoves and fuel for them

  • Socks

  • Fuel for generators

Old Fort, NC:

*Curfew 9 pm - 7 am

  • Labor to help clear homes

  • PPE - protective clothing for hazardous clean up

  • Shovels

  • Floor squeegees

  • Heavy duty garbage bags

  • Clean up materials

Spruce Pine, NC:

Drop off site: Spruce Pine United Methodist, 11090 NC-226, Spruce Pine, NC 28777

Drop off hours: 10 am - 3 pm daily

Contact: Rev. Holly Cobb McKim o. (828) 765-7446, c. (828) 302-4321, hmckim@mnccumc.net

  • Propane

  • Heaters

  • Lamp oil

  • Old lamps

  • Sugar

  • Candy

  • Candles

  • 20 lb. propane tanks for grills

  • Wicks

  • Matches

  • Lighters

  • Cook stoves with fuel

  • Propane grills

  • Single burner propane stoves

  • Infant and children’s clothes

  • Batteries

  • Baby bottles

  • Celiac, gluten-free specific foods

  • Flashlights

  • Men’s adult diapers

  • Bed protectors / disposable blue pads

  • Long cables and locks to secure their portable generators as theft is rampant

  • Shower tents

  • Solar showers

  • Chapstick

  • Yellow jacket traps

  • Benadryl & hydrocortisone for the yellow jacket stings

  • Laundry Detergent

  • Dish Detergent

  • Bleach

  • Toilet Paper

  • New bath towels

  • New dish towels

  • C Batteries

Hospice and Palliative Care of the Blue Ridge:

  • Donate to: Hospice and Palliative Care of the Blue Ridge is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving vulnerable communities in Spruce Pine and some of the hardest-hit areas of Western North Carolina. Every donation stays within Mitchell County, directly supporting those in need.. https://www.hospiceblueridge.com/make-a-contribution.

    Contact: Christina Jenkins, MSW, CEO (828) 765-5677, cjenkins@hospicemc.com

    Location: 236 Hospital Drive, Spruce Pine, NC 28777, www.hospicemc.com

    • Heaters (Kerosene, Buddy-Heaters)

    • Damp Rid (many have had water in their home with mold now growing)

    • Fans

    • Carbon Monoxide Detectors and Batteries

    • Sleeping Bags

    • Heavy Duty Extension Cords

    • Generators (will go to their patients needing O2 first)

    • Monetary donations which will allow them to sustain as a free standing non-profit and continue their mission of care.

Brownsville, NC to Erwin, TN:

  • There is a huge need for generators with a 220 outlet to pump safe well water.  As well as heaters for the cold nights.

    • Generators with a 220 plug in.

    • 10/2 wire

    • 220 plugs to attach and plug into the generator after wired to the panel

    • Single burner propane cook stoves or turkey burners for cooking

    • Gas to run generators ( i have about 40 gallons I'm taking but......)

    • Propane large and small containers.

    • Little buddy heaters or  types of propane heaters

McDowell County Immediate Need Areas

(Morganton, Black Mountain, Marion, Swannanoa, Valdese, Spruce Pine, Drexel, Nemo, Salem, Glen Alpine, Lake Lure, Montreat, West Marion, Old Fort, Newland, and Linville)

Div B McDowell County

  • Mill Creek Rd & Old US 70 W

  • Curtis Creek Rd

Div C McDowell County

  • Buck Creek Rd

  • NFSR 470 over Little Buck Creek

Div D McDowell County

  • Armstrong Creek Rd

Div E McDowell County

  • Old Linville Rd

Immediate Needs:

  • Chainsaws and Tree Removal

  • Debris Removal

  • Mud Removal

  • Crisis Counseling Teams

  • Food for home schooled children

  • Foot bridges to be rebuilt

  • School counseling teams (Schools resume tomorrow)

Recovery Needs:

  • Housing

  • Debris Removal

  • Recovery Centers

  • Employment

URGENT CALL FOR 4-WHEEL DRIVE DRIVERS

the National Guard has established a distribution center. Now, they urgently need volunteers with 4-wheel drive vehicles to help deliver these essential supplies to the hardest-hit areas, and get them up, over mountain.

Where to go & When

McDowell Tech, 54 College Dr, Marion, NC 28752

9-4 only. No appointment needed—just show up ready to help. If you are unfamiliar with the area, would advise coming earlier in the day so you can get up mountain and deliver, and still have daylight to get back down to town.

What to Do:

They’ll load your vehicle and direct you over the mountain to those in need. Come with an empty vehicle unless you can source cooking, heating, lighting, or power sources and their fuels - in which case, bring all you can source, finish filling your truck at McDowell Tech, and then take all of it up over mountain.

What to Bring:

Food, water, and snacks for yourself (Marion has fast food and restaurants that are open for business), paper road map of the area, work gloves, jacket/coat for morning hours, shovels, come alongs, etc. that may be helpful if you stay to help anyone clear debris or dig out.

If responding and coming to Western North Carolina and McDowell County to help:

  • Door-to-Door Assistance

    The fire chief suggests going directly to homes in affected areas like Mill Creek or Curtis Creek, where the damage is severe. Residents have been welcoming any help you can provide since there is no other way for them to communicate their needs.

  • Local Entry Points:

    Access points like Old Fort are open, making it possible to get into the impacted areas. Volunteers can reach these places to offer help directly, assess the situation, and determine where the most immediate needs are.

  • Assistance Activities:

    Since communication is down, offering direct help with essential needs like clearing debris, repairing or rebuilding foot bridges, getting trees off of cars and homes, etc. could be critical. Focus on finding residents who may need help with urgent tasks, including re-establishing access to fresh water by getting power to their wells.

Old Fort area and beyond is in a severe state of emergency, with damaged communication systems and limited ways to get in touch with those needing assistance. The fire department is recommending a grassroots approach to help. Volunteers can also choose to register at 211:

Drivers

If you can come to Old Fort to help get supplies farther up into affect areas, two churches need help distributing all of the donations they have received as the community needs are being met and they need these goods to get farther up to others still in dire need. Also, Ford and GM are sending full transfer trucks to a factory in Old Fort and they need help getting the goods out to Spruce Pine, Swannanoa, and on up to Brownsville and Erwin, TN. We will have a contact number and location address for this by tomorrow morning.

ATVs (4 wheelers, side by sides, etc.)

the area between Brownsville, NC and Erwin, TN is in dire need of supplies and much of it is impassable by automobile.

Please bring

Any firewood, charcoal, propane (20 lb and small canisters), gas grills, kerosene or gas lanterns/lamps and mantels and fuel, well hand pumps, generators, gasoline, camp stoves and fuel, lighters, matches, candles, solar or camp showers, and toilet paper. These are urgent needs in McDowell County and beyond.

Lodging

You can reach out to the Mission Hospital in Marion (828) 659-5000 to get a list of places that are housing volunteers or come prepared to self sustain and camp.

Clothing and Gear

The weather is cold at night in the mornings, warming in the afternoon - bring clothing options to accommodate that. Bring paper road maps & means of navigation, shovels, clean up tools, PPE, camping supplies, food - most fast food and grocery is open in Marion for purchase.

Meet Elaine Brewer, a resident of Celo

Elaine Brewer, a resident of Celo who embodies resilience and generosity. Despite facing personal challenges and difficult losses even before Hurricane Helene hit, Elaine has spent her days volunteering and distributing goods to those in need. Her voice of compassion, gratitude, and strength, prove that even in the hardest times, kindness can shine through.

Thanks to all of you and your incredible generosity, essential supplies are reaching those most in need. We’ve witnessed an outpouring of kindness. The most humbling part? At both the Asheville distribution sight by Rogue Combat Club and the United Methodist Church in Spruce Pine, most who came for aid only took very little, saying, “Others might need it more.” This is the heart of North Carolina at its finest—neighbors helping neighbors, even when they themselves are in need.