Support Western NC Families in Recovery

I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and tell a little about our story.

My name is Brett Hoge and I am a Financial Advisor in Winston Salem, NC. I reside in Davie County with my wife, Wendy and our two daughters, Riley and Berkley. I was raised in Boone, NC and met my wife while we were both attending Appalachian State University. We own a home in Banner Elk, NC so this area still holds a very special place in our hearts. I was in our Banner Elk home during Hurricane Helene when a tornado ripped through our property leaving substantial damage but thankfully no injuries and nothing that time cannot fix.

Hurricane Helene left a trail of destruction in it's wake through Western, NC and has left countless families displaced and in desperate need of assistance. Homes have been destroyed, loved ones lost, and communities torn apart. We immediately knew that we wanted to help our communities during this difficult time and that is when the Hoge Mission was brought to life. Wendy and I are deeply committed to supporting aid and relief for those impacted by Hurricane Helene. I've witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of this disaster and these experiences have instilled in me a sense of urgency to take action. To date we have raised approximately $425,000 to help support Western, NC families in recovery and worked with Shallow Ford Foundation, Inc. a 501(c)(3) to become beneficiary of my GoFundMe page so that your contributions will be tax deductible or you can now donate directly to the relief fund through Shallow Ford Foundation Inc. The Foundation is waiving their fees and will use the dollars only to pay the direct expenses of providing assistance in the communities not yet reached by federal, state, and other relief efforts or equipping local organizations that were short on supplies, chain saws, generators, and other urgently needed items.

We have transported, delivered, and/or coordinated Food, water, generators, chain saws, Fuel, Medical Supplies, clothing, etc., to those in need. We were also able to help coordinate deliveries of Insulin and 281 Pounds of Epinephrine to clinics in need with connections made over the years. There have been anywhere between 8-20 workers staying in my home in Banner Elk since the storm while they assist with cleaning up trees and debris.

Waterfront Group and the community of Eagles Nest (Where our home is located) are raising money for relief efforts in Western NC and TN. Particularly Avery, Ashe and Watauga counties in NC and Johnson County in TN. These funds will be used for fuel for their helicopter, supplies including water, food, baby food & needs, pet supplies, etc. Any leftover funds will be donated to help families who have lost everything. The owners of Eagles Nest, Will & Lavi Adkins, are making a huge impact during this time. Will is a pilot and has made several trips into the affected areas over the last week to deliver supplies or conduct rescues.

One of the owners of Elevate Land Group and Wheels Contracting, Inc., Derek Buchanan, was born and raised in Avery County along with his entire family, extended family, and hundreds of workers. Many of these people have lost everything including loved ones and friends. The area where they live was directly impacted by the hurricane. They have a very large operation set up at Derek’s store, The Spear Country Store in Newland County. They are cooking hot meals daily, delivering meals to people who don't have access to the store, cutting trees to get people out of their homes, delivering medicine, food, gas, helping with FEMA Applications and anything else that people in the community may need. They have been getting lists of families and all their clothes sizes to take care of individual families one by one.

While the storm has passed, it's impact will be felt for a long time to come as we grieve the loss of lives and property and support the communities that have much work to do to rebuild. It's because of people like you and communities coming together that we will get through this in the end. We are delivering items to those in need and accepting small donations to provide to others. We are happy to help coordinate larger donations to organizations that have the resources to break them down and move them out to the community.

There are so many stories of immediate relief that your dollars have made possible and we will continue to share first hand videos and photos during this journey.

http://clemmons.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund...

Direct link to Relief Fund through Shallow Ford Foundation, Inc.

https://gofund.me/4afe6074

Hoge Mission GoFundMe.

Thank you for your compassion and generosity!