GIVING TUESDAY 2024
Happy Holidays! It’s Giving Tuesday, and we are continuing our tradition of making charitable donations to organizations that make an impact in our communities. Without a doubt, this year we are focused on helping western North Carolina recover and rebuild. I grew up in the foothills of western North Carolina, attended college at the University of North Carolina-Asheville, and frequent what I call “God’s Country” as often as I can. In fact, I was planning a trip to the Chimney Rock area in October. Chimney Rock as I once knew it doesn’t exist anymore.
Hurricane Helene reshaped the landscape of western North Carolina, and destroyed homes, lives, and communities. There are many organizations that are working to rebuild lives, but we have chosen to honor Baptists on Mission this Giving Tuesday:
Baptists on Mission is responding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in the mountains of western North Carolina and has fourteen locations set up throughout the region. They have been there since the beginning and are now in the first rebuild phase to help people get back into their homes before the worst of the winter weather comes. As of last week, they had served over 400,000 hot meals and completed over 2,500 recovery jobs on homes.
With so many organizations stepping up to help western North Carolina, why Baptists on Mission? One word—Larry. I have been in Rotary with Larry for over 20 years. Over those 20 years, Larry would periodically miss meetings whenever there was a flood, tornado, hurricane, or some other natural disaster. Where would Larry be? He would be on the ground with Baptists on Mission, helping people recover and rebuild. Two weeks ago, I sat with Larry at our Rotary meeting, and he told me that he had just returned from Yancey County with Baptists on Mission, where they had cleaned out houses that had been flooded and put in new insulation. He described the work for me and the hours his crew put in, which I thought seemed incredibly physically demanding. However, for Larry, it was a joy and a real blessing for him to do this work, and he’s not done yet. He was planning to return to do more work. Larry is 85 years old.
Larry and Baptists on Mission are making a difference in lives, and we want to support this work. Thank you, Larry! You represent what “Giving” is all about, not only today, but all year long!
All our best to you and your families!
Linda Ward and the lawyers and staff at Ward Family Law Group
