Latest news with #RebuildingHollersFoundation
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Rebuilding Hollers supports Helene victims in western North Carolina
BURNSVILLE, NC (WGHP) — In a two-story building, saved from the flood waters of Hurricane Helene, is a refuge for some and a place of hope for others. According to volunteer Karen Sayre, 'I have seen such goodness through this I mean it's just it's phenomenal the people here and the volunteers the neighbors.' North Carolina students building tiny home for Helene victim She has been with Rebuilding Hollers Foundation since it started in a parking lot in the days after Hurricane Helene devastated parts of Yancey and Mitchell Counties. Stephanie Johnson, a local realtor, knew something had to be done, so she organized a donation drive where people could come and get items they needed to live. She added, 'There's been nothing like it. And I tell you what, the people here are so humble and so grateful and you try and give them something. Their first responses. No. Give it to my neighbor. Don't give me too much, they need it more than I do.' They called it Rebuilding Hollers because so many of the Hollers in both Mitchell and Yancey counties were wiped out. Volunteer Jenny McFarland knows the importance of hollers all too well. 'A lot of it is family. Usually when you're in the hollers, that's usually what you have is just, you know, your family is surrounding you,' McFarland said. 'I live on the Creek. I've got a river on one side and a Creek that runs up the other side. So it's just back off in the boonies is what I call it.' When they could, they moved into this building to better serve those who needed help. Sayre says, 'People show up with donations all the time.' Everything from food and housing supplies to building supplies which they keep outdoors. They do their best to get flood victims what they need. And it's all done anonymously. It's a members-only club but there's no membership fee. According to Sayre, 'If you're a resident of Yancey or Mitchell County, then you can be a member. And if you've had damage from Helene and just come in, fill out a very simple basic form copy of your driver's license and then sit down with one of us. Let us know what your needs are, what's been done, what needs to be done, what kind of supplies. And then we work to get it, get it done for you.' The privacy of those receiving help is of utmost importance. 'Everything's identified by number. Our projects all have numbers and that's the only we don't know who those projects belong to? And yeah, it's all about privacy. They they've been through enough,' says Sayre. They stay busy with almost 400 ongoing projects and more being added every day. The volunteers say that tells you the need is still great. But so are the hearts of those both giving and receiving. Says Sayre, there is 'so much good. It's been very fulfilling and we're in it for the long haul here.' They have also renovated and furnished two apartments upstairs where people who are currently living in a shed, camper, or even tent can come for a break. They are completely furnished with a washer and dryer, kitchen and a nice bed where Helene victims can truly relax. Plus, they work with the student carpenters at Mountain Heritage High School who are building tiny homes for those who lost everything in the storm. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
North Carolina students building tiny home for Helene victim
BURNSVILLE, NC (WGHP) — At Mountain Heritage High School in Yancey County, the sounds of saws and hammers fill the air. To those in that part of Yancey County, it's the sound of hope. Students in Jeremy Dotts' Advanced Carpentry class are building a tiny house that will go to help a victim of Hurricane Helene. Find out What's Right With Our Schools! Says Dotts, 'We literally started in January on the very first house and that's what you see right over there.' This house is special for a number of reasons. Hurricane Helene hit their community hard, so they all felt and saw the loss firsthand. According to Dotts, 'The floodwaters were really what hit me and see more than anything because we have really two major rivers that flood that come through. Yancey County, that just wiped-out whole areas. So it's been it's been devastating.' Jesse Taylor, a senior advance carpentry student, remembers it well. 'There was trees down all over the roads. Driveways were destroyed. A lot of my neighbors' driveways . We live next to a Creek, rocks everywhere in the yards. Just a lot of damage. It was really sad to see,' he said. But knowing they are a part of the rebuilding and healing process helps. 'They (the students) have bought in completely to what they're doing. Their hearts are in it. They know who this house is going to. They know that the foundations that they're working with, like rebuilding hollers is, you know, their hearts in the right place with doing this to help our community members,' said Dotts. And while they are raising the walls, their level of experience has gone up as well. 'I have 18 kids in here building 3 individual projects, so they're not always able to get to me right away,' Dotts says. 'They have to figure that out and make those mistakes and in the process of making those mistakes, they really learn.' Plus, he says they are also learning something that can't be taught in any book: empathy and compassion. 'That is something that you it's very difficult to teach kids to do, but if you instill it in them. They really get it. And they love it. They really do buy into it.' For the students it makes them feel useful in the clean up and rebuilding. 'It's great being able to get the experience and give back to the community just to help someone that's needing it,' said senior Carter Tabor. Jesse Taylor added, 'Yeah, it's brought back, you know, lot of hope getting back in here after the hurricane. It's pretty nice getting able to work and give back to the community.' A community that recognizes and needs their help. This house was paid for with donations to the Rebuilding Hollers Foundation. They are hoping to build many more homes in the future as they try to regain what once was. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Western NC seniors build homes for Helene victims
North Carolina high school students are using their carpentry skills to build tiny homes for Helene survivors. Mountain Heritage High School in Burnsville has a carpentry class where students are busy building a home for a family who lost everything. The project is part of a new partnership with the Rebuilding Hollers Foundation. ALSO READ: Undefeated western NC football team uplifts community hit hard by Helene Their teacher said they embraced the opportunity to give back. 'It makes me feel very proud knowing that I am able to help and change someone's life that is in need through not only school but building and just helping out those that can't really help themselves,' Croix Silver, a senior at Mountain Heritage High School, said. The high school hopes to continue to build two to four tiny homes a year. WATCH BELOW: Eric Church to build 40 homes in WNC county impacted by Helene
