Old Fort Strong Endurance Festival

I've spent a good bit of time in and above Old Fort, NC over the years, beginning with summer camp at Camp Grier as a child and most recently as a participant in the Hellbender 100 Trail Race. It's a charming town that is often overshadowed by Asheville and Black Mountain to the west, but one that holds a special place in my heart.

I realize that asking for donations for me to go run around a loop trail for 24 hours is a bit unusual, but I'd prefer to look at it as a personal challenge for me to reach out to those I know and in many cases--through Kevin Bacon's six degrees of separation--people I have never met, and see if they will take up the call to support the town of Old Fort and its people.

These donations will go directly into the Old Fort Strong Fund, which is dedicated to helping support community members in Old Fort who have lost their homes or had significant damage to their homes and will not receive any or enough help from insurance to rebuild. Due to the massive flooding that took place beyond historic flood zones, many homes did not have flood insurance to cover this cost, and FEMA reimbursement is nowhere near enough to cover the loss of even a very modest home. The goal is to raise $2,000,000 from this event to help in this cause. All donations will go directly to helping those in need in the Old Fort community. The bottled water, diapers, clothing, etc... that so many of you have sent has helped tremendously but now it's time to face the hard truth that Old Fort (like many of our mountain communities) will need to be rebuilt, and it's a monumental undertaking. Over 50 homes in Old Fort were either damaged or completely destroyed. 

400 bikers/hikers/runners are taking part in the December endurance event in Old Fort, plus many more at satellite sites around the state (and even one in Boulder, Colorado.) Each participant has a minimum fund-raising goal of $1,500, but there is nothing that says we can't exceed that amount. In fact, my sister encouraged me to aim higher so I set the goal at $10,000. With your help, we can reach this big, audacious goal. And yes, I'm not just an asker, I'm also a donor.

Note that there is a transaction fee that this site charges for credit/debit card processing. There is a link below and in the upper right for contacting one of the organizers about direct donations, though they are trying to limit this to $1000 or more.