Support Community Healing After Hurricane Helene

The first workshop. Kind of a beta run.

Water line and Volvo

The garage. Some things have been moved at this point.

The whole building where BLIMP and the garage are located.

Buckling foundation with corner removed by flooding waters.

The mudslide against our house

This first experience of after at BLIMP.

Last week after laying out new palace rug.

The back part of the theater space.

Hi Everyone - For those of you that don’t know me, I am Shem Millard and live in Swannanoa, NC with my partner Nadja, our dog, and two cats. As you probably know, Hurricane Helene came through last Friday and wreaked unspeakable destruction to our region. This will take many days, weeks, months, and even years to fully heal and rebuild. For many, the trauma will endure through their lives as the death toll rises to levels unseen to those other than survivors of Katrina.

For us, we lost our house and I lost my two businesses. More accurately, the tools and garage where my equipment for Blue Sky Window Cleaning was housed, and an improvisational theater I was putting together: Black Mountain Improvisational Theater, or BLIMP.

While BLIMP was not yet open for business, it was but a month away after a year plus of effort from being able to host classes and workshops. It was, and still is, a labor of my heart’s creative expression.

In the same building as BLIMP, I had a garage where I housed not only my window cleaning equipment, but all of my tools and a Volvo 240 I was restoring.

I am seeking funds to begin rebuilding BLIMP, and also to help replace the tools needed to work again.

Specifically, to replace recently purchased computer equipment (a $5500.00 loss) for marketing, graphics and general administration tasks, and help secure a new location for our new community theater. A Martin and Taylor guitar, tools to help get back to work. I lost a Volvo 240 that wasn’t registered or insured since it was garaged and in the process of being restored. I am not really asking for the funds to replace that, just mentioning to illustrate the scope of losses.

A friend mentioned a GoFundMe. I hadn’t thought of it, and felt some squeamishness about making a public statement such as this. I set a low goal to begin with as I don’t really know what to expect. Howeever uncomfortable I feel about this request, I have to admit this was a devastating blow to not just the pocketbook, but to life’s passion and service to my community.