Old Fort Strong Endurance Festival

We moved here for the beautiful ecology and mountains that surround us here, and to see it brought to rubble is so devastating. I was wanting to help in a way that is meaningful and aligns with my love of these mountains and community and when this event was created, I knew the answer to my question. I signed up for a for the 6 Hour race during the Old Fort Endurance Festival on Dec 7 - 8th as a fundraiser for the town of Old Fort, NC (just 29 miles to our west) and funds go to a 501c3 non-profit fund called "Old Fort Strong" to help rebuild this community. The Fund 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 help to pay for rebuilding from insurance. Many people lost their homes in McDowell County, it was 50+ in this area due to the massive flooding that took place outside of historic flood zones, many homes did not have flood insurance to cover this cost. FEMA assistance will only give $42,000 per household for relief, so the goal of the fund is to raise $2,000,000 to help these families rebuild their homes and their lives. All donations will go directly to helping those in need in our community.  

Alongside this, these impacted areas are of great significance to me. I am on a organizing race committee and we have a great partnership with Camp Grier and the town of Old Fort, this is where we host "Hellbender 100" race all throughout the Black Mountains and Pisgah National Forest. I also love to spend my time with trail maintenance, running these mountains, forests and trails!

A little goes a long way in helping these communities rebuild!