Where We Are Going
Our first route left Wednesday 10/9 headed to Downtown Asheville, NC. Supplies went to The Venue where local business owners converted their salvaged wedding venue into a hub for TWO Senior Adult/Assisted Living facilities, a nearby apartment complex as well as lodging a chainsaw crew that is knee deep in daily rescue missions. They are locals serving locals and we were blessed to work with them.
The second route is going to East Asheville where Slocomb native, Scott Raines has lived for years. Scott is helping coordinate a distribution center at his church, Covenant Community Church, where all the essentials and senior care items are in great need. Additionally, they have taken on Rescue and Retrieval efforts and are in desperate need of camping and rescue supplies. They are supplying and participating in 11 rescue camps in the Black Mountain and Banner Elk area.
What They Need
Sponsoring Businesses
How To Give Monetarily
All cash donations are being used to fill in the holes of items needed. We are working with several local businesses to purchase bulk supplies at a discount so that we can stretch every dollar further. There is just no time to setup a Non-Profit and transferring control of money received on our behalf just isn’t an option. So we are just doing what we can for now. For full transparency, a summary of donations and detail of all purchases will be posted on this site as time permits.
Cash – Rehobeth True Value ONLY
Checks – make payable to AEE Retail Community Involvement Fund
Venmo – @Nikki-Enfinger
How It Started
Hey y’all! I’m Nikki Enfinger. After Hurricane Helene devastated the southeast area, my husband Ashley and I set off to Georgia to deliver supplies from our hardware store, Rehobeth True Value. After seeing the devastation our hearts were broken and we set out on a mission to get our neighbors supplies one way or another! We know the heart of this community and never once doubted the task ahead. We quickly got to work to coordinate collecting and distribute much needed supplies to remote desperate areas like Asheville, NC. We worked with Amie Pollard and Dave with our local radio station B105.3 to find locals with connections to the Asheville area. Within a matter of hours we received an outpouring of support from fellow business owners, community leaders and most importantly, every-day folks that make up this community!
Since we began this project just days ago, locally owned businesses, food banks, fellow churches and media partners have come on board. We have filled one trailer and are started on our second; we’ve collected thousands of dollars in cash donations that we are using to fill in the holes, and have had dozens of people show up to help receive, sort and pack up supplies. Being a part of this project has been a pure blessing and has restored my faith in America. We are working with trusted local transportation companies like AAA Cooper and Summerford Trucking to obtain EMA clearance for every load, so you can trust that the supplies you donate to this effort will get to their intended destination.
The effort has been pinned the Wiregrass Reach Project, so if you see the banner around town, know that is a verified drop-point and that business it committed to this project and to this amazing community!
Connect With Us
As you are packing your donations, please use the hashtag #wiregrassreachproject to help us get the word out. We will update this site as time permits and our Trusted Partners will share updates on their socials.
Trusted Partners
This project would not be possible without our Media Partners that are helping us stay in contact with the community. Our transportation partnerships with AAA Cooper Transportation and Summerford Trucking are crucial, the local businesses committed to collecting and transporting your donations to the hub in Rehobeth are essential, and the businesses who have partnered with us to sell goods at a discount have been incredibly gracious! Our amazing volunteers who have given their time so graciously…y’all are incredible! We are blessed to be a part of this community and this project.
Please be sure to remember our Partners as you do business in the Wiregrass! These folks are sacrificing finances, staff, space and time and resources…it’s important that we keep locally involved businesses like these in at the forefront of our minds and support them FIRST!