WNC Hurricane Relief - Rochester MN

11/24/2024

Due to unforeseen circumstances, aka I got incredibly sick for two weeks and ended up in/out of the hospital, this trip has been cancelled.

We are still continuing to support those in Appalachian communities, either through reposting or sharing information. There is no upcoming plans to reschedule, but perhaps in the future.

We love you.
Thank you for your generosity and help.

On September 26-28th, my hometowns (Asheville & Waynesville) and the surr… Gracie Salvaggio needs your support for Thanksgiving Hope for North Carolina!

11/10/2024

❤️❤️❤️

On September 26-28th, my hometowns (Asheville & Waynesville) and the surr… Gracie Salvaggio needs your support for Thanksgiving Hope for North Carolina!

11/10/2024

Calling all babies! Here at Valley Strong Disaster Relief we have a lot of Baby Supplies including a wide range of formulas, baby food, snacks, baby wash, diapers, wipes, and bottles. We encourage you or anyone you may know to come pick these up! Baby showers? Moms of Multiples? Know a friend or neighbor? Please come visit us here at Silverados to pick up some supplies!

11/04/2024

Officially, we have the dates for our Thanksgiving trip.

November 26th to December 2.

Driving 26/27 and December 1/2, which is the tentative drive dates. We may drive through the day and night, or stay over night somewhere. That is a decision is still up in the air. However, we will be in North Carolina over Thanksgiving and helping serve the community.

As of right now, I’ll be packing up my vehicle and the space will be limited so physical donations will be extremely limited. However, I do have a connection at a local grocery store in Asheville that has confirmed they are stocked and ready for us to buy donations once we are there. Moving forward, here is a list of urgent donations that we will be prioritizing bringing down to Black Mountain and Valley Strong Disaster Relief.

🚨 DONATION ITEMS 🚨
(Priority items = ⭐️)

* ⭐️ Electric heaters
* ⭐️ Heavy blankets
* ⭐️ Cleaning products: laundry detergent & Dish soap
* ⭐️ Paper products : cups, plates, & paper towels
* ⭐️ Canned Food
* Air mattresses AND pumps
* Tents
* Kitchen Trash Bags
* Cat litter
* Hair Conditioner
* Dry/shelf milk
* Mac & cheese
* Crackers
* Jelly
* Portion rice
* Pasta noodles
* Snack food

Thanksgiving is a time spent with family and surrounded with love, let’s help make sure these families get to enjoy it. Let’s make sure they know we have not forgotten about them.

To my friends and family in NC:
We hear you.
We see you.
We value you.
We love you.

For more information regarding our physical donation list provided by Valley Strong Disaster Relief, please check out

Provide below is our GoFundMe page for our Thanksgiving mission: https://gofund.me/70c6c007

Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Please continue to pray for us and send positive vibes! ❤️

Love you all,
Gracie Salvaggio - WNC Hurricane Relief

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📲 Contact information

* Email: [email protected]
* Number: 8508659598
* page: https://www.facebook.com/share/Y6ua7b5xFACF8MX4/?mibextid=LQQJ4d



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📲 Contact information

* Email: [email protected]
* Number: 8508659598
* page: https://www.facebook.com/share/Y6ua7b5xFACF8MX4/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

On September 26-28th, my hometowns (Asheville & Waynesville) and the surr… Gracie Salvaggio needs your support for Thanksgiving Hope for North Carolina!

11/04/2024

Good evening!

On September 26-28th, my hometowns (Asheville & Waynesville) and the surrounding communities were devastated by Hurricane Helene. The mountain communities were not prepared for this natural disaster, nor was the infrastructure and families. There was a lack of proper communication between officials and residents, the storm hit without proper notice. This Hurricane destroyed lives and families. It’s been a little over month, yet there is still a huge need.

Over the last few weeks, prior and before our first trip to North Carolina, I’ve been in contact with numerous families down there. Hearing the stories and collecting needs, it’s awful. As of our most recent trip to North Carolina, WNC Hurricane Relief has turned its focus on helping Valley Strong Disaster Relief continue their mission in Black Mountain, NC.

Valley Strong Disaster Relief, Inc is a 501(c) (3) and team of committed people working together to provide support and compassion to our valley. They hope to alleviate suffering in the face of emergencies by being beacons of light to our communities. Working out of Sliverado’s in Black Mountain, they are diligently working everyday since the storm to offer assistance and aid. Led by the amazing Jenalee Tipton and Jason Ward, this wonderful organization has become a symbol of hope for Hurricane survivors.

Our next trip will be in November over Thanksgiving week, dates are still being solidified as our housing situation has shifted due to an unexpected emergency. I am still planning on driving down to North Carolina either by myself or with a very small team. However at this time, all donations will be going towards Valley Strong Disaster Relief and transportation to North Carolina.

Our current plan is to pack up my small Chevrolet Malibu with as much as we can before driving down. Once settled and donations are distributed, we will be heading to a grocery store in the surrounding city to purchase more items for Thanksgiving meals. These families have gone through enough trauma for a life time, they deserve a stress free Thanksgiving meal. Along with donations, I’m planning on bringing our care packages for the volunteers as well.

Thanksgiving is a time spent with family and surrounded with love, let’s help make sure these families get to enjoy it. Let’s make sure they know we have not forgotten about them.

To my friends and family in NC:
We hear you.
We see you.
We value you.
We love you.

Provide below is our GoFundMe page for our Thanksgiving mission: https://gofund.me/70c6c007

For more information regarding our physical donation list provided by Valley Strong Disaster Relief, please check out our page. We do not have a trailer so physical donations will be limited. Thank you so much!

Love you all,
Gracie Salvaggio - WNC Hurricane Relief

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📲 Contact information

* Email: [email protected]
* Number: 8508659598
* page: https://www.facebook.com/share/Y6ua7b5xFACF8MX4/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Please continue to pray for us and send positive vibes! ❤️

11/04/2024

Wishlist 11/1/24

10/29/2024

Hey friends!

If you have kids or you’re a teacher, we are creating care packages for the SAR teams and volunteers in Black Mountain, North Carolina. A few friends of mine have been working since day one of the hurricane and haven’t had a break, they are exhausted yet still working. Truly, they are superheroes!

We would love to include letters or colorful pictures made by kids to brighten their day! If you’d like to be involved in this small project, let me know!

If you do not live close to Rochester, no worries! You can still send a letter and colorful piece of art! Message our page and I’ll send over the address!

Thank you!! ❤️

10/28/2024

So incredibly proud of this group! Jenalee, their fearless leader, is moving mountains down in Black Mountain! Jenalee and her amazing volunteers are doing some amazing work, we are so proud to have served alongside them! ❤️

See you soon, Valley Strong Disaster Relief!

10/22/2024

Hey friends!

While we are on the road, I wanted to get the word out about the next little project we are starting.

✨CARE PACKAGES!✨

Some of these volunteers and teams have been working, since day one of the storm. They are exhausted and tired, working incredibly hard to keep their community safe as well as serving the community. I’ve seen first hand how their days turn into 12 hours days within a blink of an eye. I was exhausted after just a few days of working alongside them, but they’ve been working for weeks and plan on continuing their work until there is no longer a need.

If you’d like to send a care package to these volunteers and teams, please message me privately. I’m collecting a list of needs and favorites (like candy and snacks, etc). Let’s make these men and women smile! Let’s remind them how loved and valued they are. ❤️

Message me if you’d like to be involved in this project.

10/21/2024

Good morning!

This morning, we are heading back to Minnesota. Please keep us in your prayers as we make the drive home. It’ll be a long. As of right now, we are planning to drive straight through and keep moving along.

We did some great work in the mountains, however, the work is not done. It will not be done for a long time. The damage down here is mind blowing and unfathomable. It will take years for these communities to get back to where they once were, even then it will never be the same. People are suffering, still.

It’s been 24 days, but we heard stories of families trapped and forgotten about until recently. We heard stories of lost loved ones. We heard stories of the destruction. The pain down here is heartbreaking, however, a constant trait throughout everyone was hope. A constant stream of hope, from the volunteers to survivors. It was a beautiful reminder for us.

There is hope in the darkness.

Please keep North Carolina in your prayers and send positive vibes. The work at Sliverado’s in Black Mountain will not be stopping any time soon. The work in these communities will not be stopping until they’ve recovered. Pray for them.

As for the future of WNC Hurricane Relief - Rochester MN, we will continue to provide support from afar until I can get back to North Carolina. We are shifting our attention to long term efforts and helping those affected, more information coming soon. I can say, I am planning on coming back for Thanksgiving to help with our plans for the community and people.

Love you all,
Gracie Salvaggio

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We are NO LONGER ACCEPTING PHYSICAL DONATIONS though If you’d like to help with long term efforts, the link for the GoFundMe is below.
https://gofund.me/d9b9dead

OR- If you’d like to buy our team coffee (or whatever else you can think of) for the 16-18 hour drive, please venmo me! My Venmo is Verifiedvelma.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Please continue to pray for us and send positive vibes! ❤️

10/19/2024

Quick update!

WNC Hurricane Relief - Rochester MN is officially collaborating with the organization running out of Sliverado’s. More information regarding long term hurricane relief plans will be announced soon.

Today, our team was ready to search, however, as most know- plans change rapidly in times of need. We’ve been here at Sliverado’s working distribution and organizing, so proud of the hard work we are all doing. The heat won’t stop us from working. Taking care of the people in Black Mountain. ❤️

Personally, I’ve been working both sides of the project site- distribution and organization as well as administration. All day, I’ve been coordinating teams, over 100+ volunteers, and service projects. It’s been a long day for all us. We are tired and hot, but the people need us and we are here.

We have multiple teams ready to rumble at any moment, if we receive a distress or service request. Everything from medical to construction, our crews are stacked with stellar people with hearts of gold. Today has been a slow day for calls, but a busy day for volunteers and distribution.

More information with be announced soon about our recently formed collaboration at Sliverado’s. We will be releasing it as soon as details are finalized. Thank you for your patience.

Hope everyone is having a great day! Thank you for all the prayers and support!!❤️

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If you are in need of ASSISTANCE, please call our
🚨 HOTLINE #(828)-378-3856🚨.
No need is too small. We have teams with experience in landscaping, education, construction, engineering, medical, and search & rescue. We have tools and heavy equipment as well. Please give us a call and we will get everything sorted.

We are NO LONGER ACCEPTING PHYSICAL DONATIONS though If you’d like to help financially for donations, the link for the GoFundMe is below.
https://gofund.me/d9b9dead

🚨 Heads up, 🚨
It is faster to Venmo than GoFundMe.
My Venmo is Verifiedvelma.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Please continue to pray for us and send positive vibes! ❤️