hurricane helene help: Giving Back to Appalachian Trail Communities
We raised $19,000 for people impacted by hurricane helene
We raised $19,000 with your help for people impacted by Hurricane Helene. Our goal isn’t to stop there. We want to keep this momentum going
We want to bring the outdoors community together to provide further relief to victims of Hurricane Helene. We especially want to help those who live in the Appalachian Trail towns hit the hardest (including Hot Springs, NC, Damascus, VA, and Erwin, TN).
It has been two months, but there is more work to be done. . We’re using our platform to elevate small non-profits doing good on the ground as well as encourage holiday gift-giving from outdoor brands in North Carolina.
Why the outdoors community is doing this
Hiking the Appalachian Trail was a life-changing experience for many of us—and AT trail towns were among the hardest hit by Hurricane Helene. Many of us have friends and family who are personally impacted as well.
After talking with friends, family, and responders on the ground, we recognize as outdoors people that the way we can give back the most is by pulling resources and getting these communities money to rebuild, while encouraging others to donate.
Organizations people can donate to
We vetted this organizations for their on-the-ground work directly providing much-needed funds to Appalachian Trail town communities. Note: not all of these organizations are registered 501(c)3 organizations.
Trail Town Communities and Local Groups
Appalachian Long Distance Hiker's Association ALDHA Care Emergency Relief Fund (note: must be for this fund, not ALDHA in general)
East Tennessee Action Fund: Neighbor to Neighbor Disaster Relief Fund
Hot Springs Recovery - donations directly support the town of Hot Springs, NC. Monetary donations are processed through the Friends of the Hot Springs Library
@RiseErwin - information on Erwin, TN recovery efforts with link to their GoFundMe Help Erwin Heal
Wider regional organizations
These are two organizations recommended on the Appalachian Trail Conservancy's website as good places to donate for Helene relief.
Outdoors brands based in North Carolina you can support
Another way you can support those impacted by Hurricane Helene is to shop from brands based in North Carolina. Our friend Anna Rawlins from Asheville-based Eno Hammocks told us:
“When it comes to NC brands looking for extra love – they run the gamut. Our regional Outdoor Business Alliance has a great list. Quite a few have GoFund Me’s running to support staff and rebuild (Second Gear, Cultivate Climbing, Asheville Adventure Company, French Broad Adventures, McHone Performance Training, Rockgeist, The Outpost, Watershed, Wrong Way), while others with less damage/impact are donating a portion of sales or product to relief efforts.
“We also have an industry-wide donation campaign where donations are split between members impacted.”
North Carolina Outdoor Gear Brands to Purchase From
Anna says, “We are pushing for people across the country to have a Western North Carolina Holiday where they buy holiday gifts from local WNC companies for the holidays. We’ll need support throughout the long road ahead of rebuilding.”
Here are some brands we write about that are Treeline-award winners that are based in areas impacted by Hurricane Helene:
“We are pushing for people across the country to have a Western North Carolina Holiday where they buy holiday gifts from local WNC companies for the holidays. We’ll need support throughout the long road ahead of rebuilding.”
outdoors businesses supporting hurricane helene
The following brands worked with Treeline Review to help raise funds for Hurricane Helene relief including: Purple Rain Adventure Skirts, Six Moon Designs, TownShirt Co., LiteAF, Gossamer Gear, Mountain Laurel Designs, FarOut Guides, CNOC Outdoors, Rawlogy, Katabatic Gear, TOAKS Outdoors, Chicken Tramper Ultralight (CTUG), Jolly Gear, Sawyer, Astral, Gregory, Mystery Ranch, Granite Gear, and Big Agnes.
