Support Heavy Equipment Operators Rebuilding Marshall, NC

Hurricane Helene flooded our town of Marshall, NC, leaving behind over 2 feet of toxic muck inside all of the buildings and filling all the streets. Our community has come together in a grassroots effort to clean up the town. The job requires heavy equipment such as excavators, skid steers, dump trucks, and tractors, and community members have brought their own personal equipment to do the job. This heavy equipment is very expensive to operate and repair, and currently over 20 equipment owners are paying all the expenses out of their own pockets for this operation. Many of them are small business owners, who are also missing out on paid work to do this service for the community. So far, over 1000 tons of construction debris and even more mud have been hauled off, with much work still left to be done.

This fundraiser will make payments directly to equipment operators who are donating their time and personal resources to the downtown Marshall cleanup effort. The funds will be managed by Emily Swinney (a Marshall NC resident and wife of one of the equipment operators) and a core team of lead equipment operators working on the cleanup efforts. Funds will be shared and distributed as fairly as possible, based on machine operating hours for each piece of privately owned equipment on the ground working. The funds may also be used to repair equipment that has been damaged in the course of the cleanup work.

In a crowded sea of people and causes needing support right now, thank you for supporting our efforts! Please share widely and help us clean up our town and begin the long process of rebuilding!

An equipment operators story:

The flood through our town was devastating. The flood waters rose to 27 feet! That is 3 feet above the previous record flood of 1916. As we walked through the streets people were in total despair, unsure of how to continue. That's when we felt a sense of determination, we had to act as a community. This is our town and a very special place with a long history of local traditions, music and mountain living. To us it is the best place in the world. Our home and sanctuary.

I brought in my equipment to help with the cleanup. It was overwhelming and we had no idea where to even start. As soon as I got to work, another local owner/operator saw me and his frown and despair turned into smile. He told me he would come down tomorrow with trucks, tractors and skids. "You need all the help you can get!" he said. The number of trucks and heavy equipment and their owners downtown volunteering quickly expanded and countless members of the community joined our efforts. They showed up with shovels, squeegees, wheel barrels, tractors, excavators and trucks of every sort. People are volunteering to do whatever task necessary in order to reclaim our town.

The equipment operators have been working for two weeks in the mud, dust, & debris of unknown sources and chemical compositions. The town is absolutely devastated yet our spirit and equipment is starting to breathe it back to life. The generosity from all the volunteers has been unimaginable and we are moved by the way our community has come together.

Most of the machine operators would not normally use their equipment in these extreme, destructive and dangerous conditions. Yet we are willing to do it for the sake of our town. The salvage operations have caused excessive wear on very expensive equipment. Tracks on excavators and skids steers have been damaged by the debris and will have to be replaced for thousands of dollars. A clutch went out on a dump truck, another expensive repair. All of the vehicles and equipment will will need some level of maintenance and repairs after all of the extreme work we are doing to help our local community to reclaim the town we love and all of its wonderful businesses. We are asking for your support to help compensate these hard working heroes!

With their heart, equipment, dedication, and determination they are working alongside those with their feet on the ground in bringing this town, our home, back to life. So much has been lost and ruined from Hurricane Helene and our community is doing what it can to revive itself, there's only so much we can handle on volunteer work alone. Thank you for your kindness and may this be the beginning of a new thriving chapter for our beloved Marshall!