After Hurricane Helene hit late in the night on September 26, we mobilized our response team immediately. What started with food delivery and damage assessments in Florida has developed into a weeks-long presence near Asheville, North Carolina with plans for a 6 month deployment. We have hired two new team leads, collaborated with other organizations for our volunteer efforts, and have spread the message about why NECHAMA’s work is so important following Helene’s destruction. Read on for more details!

Meet our two new Team Leads!

We’re so grateful to have Isa and Rami on our team.
Click each picture to read their personal message!

Volunteer Updates

We have engaged a two-pronged approach to aid the victims of Hurricane Helene: Virtual volunteering through Crisis Cleanup and on-site volunteering near Asheville, North Carolina.

As of Sunday, October 20, we have accomplished the following:

  • Completed over 1000 callbacks through Crisis Cleanup, ensuring victims of both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton receive the help they need
  • Engaged 49 volunteers from Asheville; Greenville, South Carolina (1 hour away); and Charlotte, North Carolina (2 hours away) in hands-on recovery work
  • Accumulated 300 hours in on-site volunteer work, worth more than $10,000 per widely accepted volunteer metrics
  • Completed projects at 9 separate work sites
Our impact will rise exponentially when we are able to secure housing for residential volunteers. Currently, many areas of western North Carolina are without potable water and heat, which makes finding volunteer housing very difficult. Nevertheless, we are extremely proud of our amazing volunteers and the work they have done.
In addition to creating longstanding relationships with the Jewish communities of Asheville and surrounding, one highlight was hosting SEWA USA on Sunday, October 13th. SEWA is a Hindu faith-based, humanitarian, nonprofit service organization. They have an extensive volunteer network and specialize in disaster response. We bonded over our shared mission of providing comfort to the most needy, regardless of faith, background, or ethnicity. See some photos below!

 

 

 

 

We’re also so excited to welcome OU Relief Missions to North Carolina, starting today! We’re eagerly looking forward to working with their Jewish youth groups over the next several months.

NECHAMA in the News: TC Jewfolk

TC Jewfolk is the only independent online and in person journalism and engagement hub for Jewish communities in the Twin Cities. On October 15th, they published an article about NECHAMA, including our background as a Twin City based organization, our Helene response, and our goals for the future. Give the article a read HERE!

 

We would like to end this update with a huge thank you for your support these past weeks. Whether you donated money, volunteered virtually or in-person, or spread the word about NECHAMA – we appreciate you!

To continue your impact, make a donation or register as a volunteer.
Everyone can make a difference!

With gratitude,
The NECHAMA Staff

Updates / Hurricane Helene