Support a Displaced Family of 8 Find a New Home

Hey, ya’ll! My name is Dana Holston, owner of Circle L Family Restaurant located in Glade Valley, NC. The 3 children pictured above are part of a family of 8 people who were completely devastated and heartbroken after seeing Hurricane Helene destroy everything around them, including the rental home they lived in for 8 years in Creston NC., on September 28, 2024. I had the pleasure of meeting them at the restaurant while serving as a donation/drop off site when they came in search of supplies, after several days going without power or water. Barely escaping with their lives, some of them didn’t even have shoes! After being trapped as flood victims in a place they once called home, the eight of them finally managed to get to safety with very few belongings! They found their way to Alleghany County, where a family member resides, who reluctantly took them in, but only temporarily. Sadly, their family member lost a spouse earlier this year and is also struggling with some health issues which makes him harsh, bitter, and rude towards them. Although this is certainly not an ideal situation for them, as work tools were also lost preventing one of the parents from resuming work, a few have found part-time employment with me for the time being. As you can imagine, this doesn’t go very far when you are trying to support such a large family with 6 kids! They continue to lean on each other with smiles on their faces and make the best of the situation, day-in and day-out but they need more help than I can give them! When they arrived they were blessed with food, clothes, and other necessities by the community and received everything with the most grateful of hearts but what they truly need is a place of their own! What we are faced with here is no small task, but I honestly believe if everyone reading this reaches out we can make it happen and possibly exceed the goal that has been set! What they require is for ALL of us to contribute monetary donations they can use to work towards starting over so that their children don’t have to lay on the floor to go to sleep at night, they don’t have to keep their food in cardboard boxes and they can all have a home where they can be homeschooled once more! They need for us to look within ourselves and not only open our hearts but our wallets and pocketbooks to help them get back on their feet again! While many families are preparing to celebrate the holidays, this family is trying to stack pillows and blankets up so they have room to walk during the day, and the parents are trying to deal with the stress of not being wanted around or looked upon as an inconvenience and explaining this to these dear sweet children! I’m sure you will agree with me, if we even had 1/2 the struggles these folks have had for just one day with 6 CHILDREN, we would probably go out of our minds, not knowing where to turn! I am heartsick thinking about them being displaced with very little support from family because this could be any one of us! I will continue to help however I can, and be a part of something bigger than myself, and I hope I can count on YOU, my friends and family, to join me in working towards this goal for them! Even if your donation is small it is encouraged and will be forever appreciated and gratefully welcomed friends! YOU CAN make a difference! Thank you from the very depths of my heart for taking time to read this, and God bless you all!