VALLE CRUCIS, NC – Established in the wake of Hurricane Helene, Mast Store’s Mountain Strong Fund awarded donations resulting from the sale of Mountain Strong t-shirts and other merchandise to Foscoe Home Team ($2,000) and the Barefoot Baby Foundation ($1,000) in July. These donations bring the total amount donated from Mountain Strong Funds to $238,000.
“It’s hard to believe that we are now almost two years since Hurricane Helene made her way through the mountains, and there are still people who don’t have a stable roof over their heads or clean water to drink,” said Lisa Cooper, Mast General Store president. “While the work may not be as obvious as it was at first, recovery is continuing in all of our mountain communities.”
Foscoe Home Team was established after Hurricane Helene as an inclusive safety net for its High Country neighbors. The organization is a non-judgmental space for anyone needing assistance with recovery to go for food, water, clothing, and other needs. It has become, as Executive Director and Founder Sherrye Trice shared at a recent presentation to the Holly Springs Rotary Club, a place where other more established agencies are sending people for help because what they need is not within their scope of work.
“We have established a foundation of trust with those who come to us for help,” said Trice. “And if larger organizations are sending us people for help with critical needs, we need to build a bigger table.”
The $2,000 donated to Foscoe Home Team will help them continue to build trust with neighbors to strengthen and rebuild the community.
An additional $1,000 donation was given to the Barefoot Baby Foundation in Marion. An outgrowth of Barefoot Baby Clothing, the goal of this organization is to help restore the essence of a simpler, more connected childhood by promoting family bonding and outdoor activities.
“We are grateful to our guests who have supported our Mountain Strong merchandise and efforts,” said Cooper. “There are still opportunities to volunteer and organizations to support with monetary donations as the areas affected by Hurricane Helene continue to recover.”
Mountain Strong merchandise is still available online and in selected stores and will continue to support the rebuilding efforts in Western North Carolina.
Mountain Strong funds have supported several organizations thus far (through July 2026) with contributions totaling $238,000 to Foscoe Home Team ($2,000 to continue helping neighbors who would otherwise fall through the cracks), the Appalachian Theatre of the High Country ($15,000 to help cover the more than $120,000 in lost revenues and damages), Barefoot Baby Foundation ($6,000 to continue its Made in the Mountains recovery activities), Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity ($10,000 to repair flood damaged homes), Disaster Ministries of Western North Carolina, United Methodist Committee on Relief ($10,000 to repair homes in Watauga and Ashe Counties), MANNA FoodBank ($20,000 to continue their own organizational recovery and put food on our neighbors' tables), RiverLink ($10,000 - to take on riverbank stabilization, restoration, and repairs to damaged parks), Valle Crucis School Parent Teacher Student Organization ($10,000 - to help teachers reassemble their teaching aids), Boone Area Chamber Foundation ($45,000 - helping small businesses in Ashe, Avery, and Watauga Counties recover), Downtown Spruce Pine ($20,000 - a Main Street organization helping small businesses get back on their feet), MountainTrue ($25,000 – an organization that advocates for clean waters, resilient forests, and health communities), BeLoved Asheville ($25,000 – a community working to create Home, Health, Equity, and Opportunity for all in our mountain home), Asheville Chamber for Small Businesses ($20,000 – this group is helping small businesses who may not qualify for other funds get back on their feet), and River Arts District Foundation ($20,000 – helping restore the creative heart of Asheville).
# # #