White Horse Community Fund raises $100,000 for local disaster relief

Music venue to continue supporting four Swannanoa Valley nonprofit organizations

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
November 10, 2024

White Horse Membership Coordinator and Director of Communication Selena Hilemon presents four Swannanoa Valley nonprofit organizations with checks from the White Horse Community Fund. The campaign supports organizations assisting area residents, following Tropical Storm Helene. Photo by Fred McCormick

On any given night, in the heart of Black Mountain, live music takes center stage in the White Horse, where folks have been gathering to watch featured artists deliver moving performances for the past 16 years.

While that mission continued, Nov. 6, when the soulful sounds of Mama & The Ruckus with Melissa McKinney filled the listening room, the show shared the spotlight with the nonprofit music venue’s endeavor to continue supporting its community in the wake of a natural disaster.

When Tropical Storm Helene devastated the Swannanoa Valley, plunging area residents and businesses into a reality in which critical services like electricity and water were unavailable, the White Horse hosted a supply distribution hub. Behind the scenes, the leadership team was exploring ways to support organizations working directly with those impacted by the catastrophe. The organization, which became a nonprofit last year, established the White Horse Community Fund, with a goal to raise $400,000 for Bounty & Soul, the Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry, Hammer & Heart and the Black Mountain Counseling Center.

“We had to activate networks of giving, outside of this region, and not ask our members for anything, other than their love and support,” Director of Operation Zach Hinkle said, while welcoming representatives from the partnering organizations. “Instead, we figured out a way to raise money for the groups that we know have an immediate impact in the ‘first healing’ work.”

Membership coordinator and communication director Selena Hilemon touted the community’s response to the storm, which destroyed infrastructure and displaced hundreds of residents across Western N.C.

“It became apparent there are two blocks of work: the first healing work of protecting life, security and our health and the second healing work, which is what we do here at the White Horse,” she said. “We create a space for people to come together to grieve, process and feel the power of community.”

The listening room, which is allowing concertgoers to enter any event for free, by paying what they can, will donate 50% of all proceeds to the Community Fund.

Mama & The Ruckus with Melissa McKinney performs, Nov. 6, in the White Horse. The event also marked the first round of disbursements from the White Horse Community Fund, which supports local nonprofit organizations. Photo by Fred McCormick

“We partnered with these organizations by asking them all about impactful projects we could help them fund, in the wake of everything that has happened,” Hilemon said. “We know good work abounds in this community, and these aren’t the only people doing good work, but we’re honored to support the work these organizations are doing.”

The White Horse, which has raised $100,000 in the first four weeks of the campaign, dispersed the initial round of funding to Bounty & Soul, Hammer & Heart and the Black Mountain Counseling Center. While each of the Black Mountain-based nonprofits received $22,000, the organization will present the Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry Fuel Fund with a check in December, according to Hilemon.

The Community Fund’s goal is to raise money that will allow Bounty & Soul to provide 300 meals, using ingredients sourced from local farmers, per day, for 30 days, in Swannanoa. The campaign will also assist Hammer & Heart, which provides urgent home repairs for area residents unable to afford them, with assistance for 15 homeowners per month, with priority given to those without flood insurance. The remainder will help Black Mountain Counseling Center, which provides free mental health services and support for local residents, offer individual and group grief and loss programs.

Ali Casparian, who founded Bounty & Soul in 2014, offered insight into the organization’s efforts since the storm.

“We’ve been on the ground since the day after the storm,” she said. “We’ve provided about 20,000 hot meals, supplies, personal protection equipment and fresh healthy food to the community. We have about 15 sites we’re delivering to in the Swannanoa Valley, Fairview and Old Fort, and the need is great.”

Hammer & Heart, which formed in 2021 to help low-income, elderly and disabled members of the community maintain safe and accessible living conditions, has experienced an influx of requests for help since the storm, according to director Ben Fortson.

Hammer & Heart director Ben Fortson discusses growing needs in the Swannanoa Valley, following Tropical Storm Helene. The nonprofit organization was one of four to receive funding, Nov. 6, from the newly established White Horse Community Fund. Photo by Fred McCormick

“We average, since our founding, about 20 to 25 homes per year,” he said. “Last month, 52 homes asked for help. These funds that are being provided here tonight are helping us help a lot of families that are really struggling.”

The organization, which employs three part-time staff, raises funds to pay licensed contractors, supplemented by volunteer labor, to complete projects for homeowners who seek assistance, according to Fortson.

“This is that model on steroids, and we have hundreds, if not thousands of volunteers we’re trying to put in place to help folks,” he said. “We will use the money available to hire local contractors to make sure the work is done properly.”

Black Mountain Counseling Center was founded by licensed professional counselor Ellen Begley, Jack Culbreth and Bill Christian in 2007. The organization relies on donations to provide professional mental health counseling services for clients in Buncombe and McDowell Counties.

The counseling center’s satellite office in Old Fort, which opened in 2021, was destroyed by flooding from Helene. The number people seeking mental health assistance has risen steadily since the disaster, according to board chair Kristi Neal.

“Last week, we had 71 counseling sessions scheduled,” she said. “This week, we have 103. Next week, that number will be bigger.”

Processing “layers of grief” is not something people can do alone, she added.

“They need to have somebody to talk to, and that’s what we’re providing,” Neal said. “We’re doing this in four therapy rooms, so part of the money we receive from this Community Fund will help us find enough therapy rooms to serve the people of this community.”