North Carolina Helene victims ‘left behind’ get help from star-studded Concert for Carolina
Concert for Carolina attendees tell Fox News Digital why they decided to go to the concert benefiting those impacted by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina.
More than 80,000 Americans from across North Carolina and the country traveled to Charlotte for Concert for Carolina on Saturday, a benefit show donating 100% of proceeds to those impacted by Hurricane Helene in the western part of the state.
Country music stars Luke Combs and Eric Church, who are both from western North Carolina, organized the star-studded show that included performances from James Taylor, Keith Urban, Billy Strings and others, plus surprise appearances from Nicole Kidman and Randy Travis, to help those impacted by Helene and ended up raising $24.5 million.
"I have been volunteering with the hurricane relief, and I see where they need a lot more help than what they're being given, so this is a great opportunity to listen to music, which I love, and help the people who need it most who have been left behind by the people who should be helping them," Jessica White of eastern Tennessee told Fox News Digital.
She added that people are still "sleeping in tents" as temperatures drop in the mountains.
"That's horrible. And it's even more horrible when we have illegals sleeping in hotels but our own taxpaying citizens are sleeping in tents because a hurricane destroyed their home," White added.
Sherry from Denver, North Carolina, echoed that same sentiment.
"I think if we did for our American citizens what we did for illegal entrants into this country, we'd be in a much better place," she said, adding that she thinks "a majority of the country has moved on and has no idea there are still people sleeping in tents."
Many of the attendees who spoke to Fox News Digital on Saturday had seen the destruction in areas around Asheville themselves when they drove hours from their homes to deliver supplies and volunteer their time to help people rebuild.
One family from Avery County said a tree fell on their home during the storm, and they drove to Charlotte for the concert to escape some of the stress they've dealt with over the last month.
Church announced during the show that his charitable organization, Chief Cares, was donating 100 homes to those in need after Helene, which killed 98 people in North Carolina alone and more than 250 across the Southeast. North Carolina Gov. Cooper estimates that damage to the state totals about $53 billion.
"We've come up with a plan called Blueprint for the Blue Ridge. We're going to put 100 families in homes that have lost their homes in Avery County and the surrounding areas — one of the worst hit areas. In an area that I spent half of my years, an area I've had a lot of inspiration and gained a lot of inspiration, in an area I've made five records in. And we're going to go and keep those people in their community, put a roof over their heads, let them interact with their community, let them be a part of their community, and let them help rebuild the community."
Hosts Marty Smith of ESPN and Caleb Pressley of Barstool Sports announced during the show that Dolly Parton had directed $1 million to Concert for Carolina through a donation from Amazon's Jeff Bezos, which he dedicated to Dolly specifically "to direct to causes that she cares about," Smith said on Saturday.
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Earlier this month, the country legend donated $1 million of her own money to the Mountain Ways Foundation to support Hurricane Helene relief efforts. Parton's Dollywood also contributed an additional $1 million to the relief.
On Saturday morning before the show, Church and Combs shared stories with Fox News Digital about their memories of western North Carolina as they reflected on the mass destruction caused by Helene.
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"I remember there was some video of an area that I knew intimately in western North Carolina, and … I didn't know what I was looking at. It was stunning to me to see this area that I grew up in, that I knew, that I no longer recognized," Church said.
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Combs recalled a U-Haul dealership he was fired from as a teenager.
"There's a Walgreens on one side of Tunnel Road, and there's a U-Haul dealership on the other side, and I actually worked one summer at that particular U-Haul dealership. I got fired from that job, and … I came home, I was probably 20 years old, and I told my parents I got laid off. They knew that was a lie," Combs recalled.
Combs added that it was "sobering to see so many places that" he had walked with his "own two feet, especially in Asheville," destroyed by the hurricane. He mentioned MANNA food bank, one of his chosen charities to benefit from the Concert for Carolina show and where he and his mother used to volunteer, saw severe damage from the storm.
"Very special place for me. A lot of memories there, and I just hate to see the condition that it's in," Combs said.
All proceeds will be split equally and distributed to Combs' and Church's organizations of their choosing in support of relief efforts across the Carolinas and the Southeast, according to a press release.
Combs’ portion will be distributed among Samaritan's Purse, MANNA Food Bank and Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC.
Church’s organization, Chief Cares, is focused on helping established charities and organizations that are well-managed, organized and can expedite aid directly to the families affected by Hurricane Helene.
Fox News' Ashley Hume contributed to this report.
