SPECIAL MESSAGE: Hurricane Relief Work
Our family is heading to Asheville this weekend to distribute supplies--donations appreciated
Dear subscribers,
Please pardon the interruption from my usual programming to share a personal update, and invite your help.
As you probably know, last week, Hurricane Helene roared through the western Carolinas, which we till recently called home. The devastation is unprecedented and indescribable--whole towns washed away, roads and rail lines destroyed, numerous water treatment plans knocked offline for the foreseeable future, and thousands of people cut off with no communications or supplies. Search and rescue is ongoing nearly a week later. State and federal agencies have been mobilizing in response, but the need is overwhelming, and private individuals and organizations are also stepping up to fill the gap.
My family and I will be driving down on Sunday, October 6th to work with the Asheville Dream Center, a leading Christian charity down there, in distributing as many essential supplies as they can (shoutout to my Substack subscriber Emily Harrison for hooking me up with them!). More than 1.2 million people live in the catastrophically-affected region, and many have lost everything; hundreds of thousands have lost access to food or water. The Dream Center has asked me to load up a trailer with as many supplies as I can for the people of Asheville and surrounding areas.
Between now and Saturday, I'm hoping to raise $10,000 to fill a U-haul with water, non-perishable foods, hygiene items, gasoline, blankets, etc. (My four-year-old daughter, Eleanor, when she heard we were planning this, came and told me, “Do you think I should bring some of my stuffed animals to give away to kids there? I have so many and I don't need them.” So I'll probably bring some stuffed animals too for kids in shelters.)
If you’d like to contribute to this effort, please give now at the GoFundMe I’ve set up. Or, If you'd prefer to give directly and tax-deductibly to the Asheville Dream Center, go here.
And whatever you do--pray, and don't stop praying. These people will need your prayers for a long time to come!
Thanks for reading this message—on Friday, I hope to send out a regular Substack post and then I’ll take next week off while we’re traveling and helping out!
Blessings,
Brad