How to help Hurricane Helene survivors in Appalachia

As floodwaters receded Monday in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina, neighbors who were spared Hurricane Helene’s wrath are asking: How can we help?

The answer right now is: Stay where you’re at and channel your aid through established organizations (details below).

More: Helene’s death toll rises to more than 100 as supplies rushed to isolated communities

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, or TEMA, has been reminding residents on social media that lifesaving efforts are still ongoing — and that those take priority.

While local communities appreciate the volunteer spirit during disasters, please DO NOT send donations that have not been requested by state or local authorities.

TEMA is not accepting volunteers or donations until the life safety mission is complete. Tennesseans, do not… pic.twitter.com/EhrIcewCLX

— Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) (@TennesseeEMA) September 29, 2024

Nashville Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, or VOAD, seconded TEMA’s sentiment, posting: “This is not a message of we don’t want your help. This is a message of we need you to wait to send your help. They are still doing search and recovery, intake centers for volunteers and donations have not been established. They will welcome us, once it is safe to do so.”

What to do in the meantime

Though you’re not cleared to help chainsaw felled trees just yet, there are opportunities to contribute financially.

These funds can go in the immediate toward food and clean water needs in the hardest hits communities and, eventually, to cleanup and rebuilding efforts.

The national names

• American Red Cross: Red Cross is accepting monetary donations to support its efforts in storm-damaged areas. You can also find where to donate blood on the Red Cross blood donation landing page. Ahead of Hurricane Helene making landfall, other blood donation groups like Blood Assurance noted the perennial need for O-negative and platelet donations, especially prevalent in disaster relief.
• Salvation Army: The Salvation Army is accepting financial contributions to support its Hurricane Helene recovery effort. It is currently based out of Johnson City, with feeding sites set up in Tennessee and more to come in North Carolina.
• United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County Disaster Relief Fund: Local United Way is asking for donations, as it works with the Buncombe County Government and its Emergency Operations Center to “ensure that NC 211 has the most up-to-date resources for callers seeking information and assistance.” The dollars raised will be distributed through local and regional foundations for the longterm recovery and rebuilding efforts.
• United Way of East Tennessee Highlands Disaster Relief Fund: Similarly, this fund for Northeast Tennessee is being collected and will be distributed by the local United Way chapter.
• GoFundMe’s Hurricane Helene Relief: The popular crowdfunding site has had many impacted individuals begin pages on its platform in the days since the storm. This linked landing page gathers all the verified, Helene-related fundraising efforts for users to select by individual story or region where they’d most like to give. As of Monday morning, there were already around 1,000 fundraisers for individual efforts.

The local orgs

• East Tennessee Foundation’s Neighbor to Neighbor Disaster Relief Fund: This is an East Tennessee-specific fundraising effort where the money will be distributed to local nonprofits and agencies to “rescue and recover their own communities amid devastating impacts from Hurricane Helene.” The fund, now in its 14th year, began after the region experienced devastating storms in 2011, and has since been used in other community disasters, like the COVID-19 pandemic.
• North Carolina Community Foundation Disaster Relief Fund: This North Carolina equivalent, which began after Hurricane Fran in 1996, is encouraging donations go instead to groups immediately addressing the health and safety of storm survivors in the state, but has set up this fund for the longterm needs during the recovery process. It says this fund will “provide grants to charitable organizations on the ground in affected communities.”
• North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund: This fund is managed directly by the state government and supports emergency response efforts.
• Baptists on Mission: The North Carolina-based nonprofit is tied to the Baptist State Convention of NC. Of its 19 declared missions, disaster recovery and relief are two. The organization is accepting donations to support its efforts, but is also setting up recovery sites and mobilizing volunteers for those near the most impacted parts of North Carolina.
• River Arts District Artists: After Asheville’s arts district was decimated by Helene’s floodwaters, this artist-focused nonprofit set up a Flood Recovery Fund. It will be distributed to the local artists for rent and supplies.
• Hearts with Hands: The North Carolina-based nonprofit, formed after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, is largely collecting supplies, ranging from cleaning and hygiene products to nonperishable food items. The group is also accepting volunteers and financial contributions.

The food distributors

• World Central Kitchen: Chef José Andrés’ nongovernmental organization often partners with local restaurants during disaster recovery, providing ingredients and manpower to distribute free food to those in need. So far, the WCK has sought volunteers in hurricane-hit areas of Florida, and Andrés spoke to CNN on Monday about the situation in Asheville. Volunteer slots are not open yet for Appalachia, but any monetary contributions in the meantime will go toward those efforts as they begin.
• Mercy Chefs: This Virginia-based nonprofit headed down to Florida ahead of Helene making landfall and has been feeding hard-hit areas there since. A second response team was headed to Asheville on Tuesday to serve fresh food to those without resources right now. The group is accepting volunteers and financial donations — saying it takes just $3.50 to deliver a hot meal to someone in need.
• Operation BBQ Relief: This hot meal distribution charity, formed after the 2011 tornado outbreak in Missouri, has currently deployed to the hardest-hit areas of the Southeast. The nonprofit accepts both financial donations and volunteer time to cook and hand out hot plates of barbecue to those in need.

This is a developing story that was last updated at 1:50 p.m. Tuesday.