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WNC Business

Updated - Ways You Can Help

Oct 06, 2024 12:15PM ● By WNC Business
Many businesses and organizations throughout WNC are rallying to provide support to individuals, businesses, and communities affected by Hurricane Helene. Please continue reading to see a dynamic list of ways you can help. WNC Business will be adding to this list as opportunities become available. If you know of ways to offer support through donations, volunteer efforts, or otherwise, please let us know.

WNC Virtual Tip Jar
Don’t forget to tip your server!

We miss seeing their faces, and they miss our tips as their primary source of income. WNC, let’s support our hospitality workers!

Every time you make your coffee, crack a beer, or heat up that microwave meal at home, consider tipping a local service industry worker or their entire staff.

Offer tips to local hospitality workers here.

Are you a local service worker or establishment?

Add Yourself to the List

Add Your Business to the List


All in for Hendo

At the heart of our community lies resilience, and Love Hendo is a testament to that spirit. When challenges arise, we come together to help one another. Through the Henderson County Chamber's crisis response fund, All in for Hendo, immediate support to local businesses can be provided when they need it most. In addition to helping businesses with immediate needs, it also funds key programs, such as our Business and Banking Apprenticeships, Mission Acceleration, scholarships, and more.

For just $20, you can purchase a Love Hendo T-shirt; half of the proceeds will go directly into All in for Hendo. 

Lists of member businesses have been created. You can purchase gift cards or use their services, especially during this impacted tourist season due to Hurricane Helene.

Agriculture, Fishing & Forestry

Restaurants, Food & Beverages

Retail and Specialty Shopping

All in for Hendo sponsorships are also available through the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce.

Love Asheville From Afar
Shop · Support · Sustain

In the wake of Hurricane Helene, many beloved Asheville and Buncombe County businesses have been deeply affected by the storm. While the community comes together to rebuild, you can lend a helping hand from afar by shopping at these businesses' online stores or contributing to fundraising efforts.

Local, independent businesses are the heart of Asheville, home to growers who are artists and artists whose work grows. Thought leaders and thought provokers, musicians and storytellers, entrepreneurs and educators, foodies and beer lovers, hippies, healers, adventurers, creators and innovators. We craft and brew and paint and carve, handcrafted by real hands. Real hands that need a helping hand. And a hug.

Your support sustains the deeply-rooted culture that makes the Asheville area so special. Every purchase counts—thank you for standing with us. If you want to do more, consider donating directly to the Always Asheville Fund and other local, large-scale impact funds and relief organizations.

Want to be featured on this page? If your business has an online store or donation platform, we’d love to include it. Fill out this form to get involved.

Shop Now

Mountain Strong Fund for Business Recovery
Continuity of businesses translates to household income and the stability needed to repair and restore our communities. To support Asheville and Buncombe County businesses, please make a donation to the Mountain Strong Fund for Business Recovery through the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce Community Betterment Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. All donations are tax-deductible and you will receive an email confirming the value of your donation.

If you'd like to support Asheville and Buncombe businesses, please make a donation.

Community Foundation of Henderson County
CFHC is dedicated to aiding nonprofit partners and neighbors through philanthropy as our area recovers from Hurricane Helene. Three new funds have been created: Lake Lure and Chimney Rock Recovery FundWNC Recovery Fund, and Henderson County and Surrounding Area Recovery Fund.

For questions about funds or donations, please call 828-697-6224, email [email protected], or email Stacie Marlowe at [email protected].  

Brands of WNC
Helene ravaged North Carolina, but it doesn’t have to ruin North Carolinian’s livelihoods. These communities are resilient, but they need your help. Shop the directory of WNC businesses and help inject vital funding into the local economy. Each listing will take you directly to their website to browse and purchase. Please note any lead-times, pre-orders, delays in shipment, etc.

Please consider shopping this directory of WNC brands to support. New brands are being added every day.

High Country Small Business Support
Though the storm is over, recovery is ongoing. As most of our visitors know, the fall leaf season is vital to businesses in the High Country, but that kind of robust economic activity isn’t possible as we enter October. Additionally, lots of our local businesses are showing up for our community in big ways. Several are directing a large portion of their resources to relief efforts like providing free meals, resident and responder support, and supply collection work. Even if you have postponed a visit, there are still ways you can support your favorite High Country businesses during this difficult time.

Visit this directory for a list of High Country Businesses who need support.

Visit Haywood: Small Business Support

In the wake of Tropical Storm Helene, Haywood County businesses are facing unprecedented challenges, and now more than ever, they need our support. One of the simplest and most meaningful ways to help from afar is by purchasing gift cards or experiences to support your favorite local shops, restaurants, and services in the beautiful Western North Carolina mountains. Whether it’s buying a gift card to enjoy a meal at a beloved restaurant, shopping online for unique gifts, or planning a future trip to Haywood County for the winter, spring, or summer, your purchase can make a lasting impact. By supporting these businesses now, you’re not just shopping—you’re helping to rebuild and sustain the heart of this vibrant community that you know and love.

Visit this directory for a list of Haywood County businesses who need support.

Higher Calling Initiative
DSSOLVR, an Asheville-based craft brewery, has announced the release of Higher Calling, a nationwide collaborative project based on a Hazy IPA recipe brewed to support the rebuilding efforts of the Western North Carolina beer community in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. Breweries or businesses interested in joining the Higher Calling initiative or making donations can email [email protected].

Blue Ridge Community College’s Educational Foundation
Donations to Blue Ridge’s Educational Foundation will provide assistance to those affected by the hurricane and tropical storm, ensuring that they have the resources needed to rebuild and recover. The funds will help people to restore access to vital services, support academic continuity, and address both immediate and long-term needs.

To contribute to the Blue Ridge Community College Educational Foundation’s Helene relief efforts, visit BlueRidge.edu/Foundation, click the “Give Online” button, and choose the “Greatest Need Fund” under the “Designation” list. Every tax-deductible contribution, no matter the size, plays a vital role in helping students and families recover and rebuild.

Pouring for Neighbors
Through the “Pouring for Neighbors” initiative, breweries and companies nationwide designated a beer, with proceeds supporting disaster relief efforts. For more information and to sign up, visit the Business Enrollment Form. For general questions, please reach out to NC Craft Brewers Guild Executive Director, Lisa Parker at [email protected]

Western Carolina Medical Society
The Western Carolina Medical Society has launched an Emergency Medical Needs GoFundMe to provide immediate relief and life-saving care to those affected. We need your help to ensure that we have the resources to meet the overwhelming need.

Your donation will help:

1. Provide emergency medical supplies and medications
2. Assist uninsured and underinsured patients in accessing necessary treatments
3. Provide Durable Medical Equipment (wheelchairs, walkers, oxygen, blood sugar monitoring devices, etc) to those in need
4. Address social determinants of health (food insecurity, shelter, basic needs)

Every dollar counts. Your generosity will directly impact the health and recovery of those in our community who need it most. 

North Carolina Department of Commerce
The North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Rural Economic Development Division, the Main Street & Rural Planning Center, and the Appalachian Regional Commission extend deepest sympathies to all those affected by Hurricane Helene. They are dedicated to providing support to Western North Carolina communities: basic needs come first, then months of clean up, and years of rebuilding. The devastation is like nothing we've seen in our lifetime, and our friends, neighbors, and fellow North Carolinians need our support now more than ever. 

Visit NC.gov/Donate to give to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund.   

Additional Organizations Working on the Ground in WNC: