Operation Foscoe: Reaching Further
In late September, Category 4 Hurricane Helene made landfall and devastated much of Western North Carolina, other parts of NC and neighboring states of Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida. One of the many areas of WNC that was catastrophically affected was Avery County, which is extremely rural and mountainous, with all the county's terrain located within the Appalachian Mountains range. Here, historic flooding and landslides were a major result of Helene.
When catastrophe strikes, communities from near and far often come together to offer emotional support, physical labor and supplies, and financial help.
Enter Foscoe Home Team, led by Avery County resident Sherrye Trice.
“Foscoe Home Team is a 501C3 charitable organization, based in Foscoe, NC. We are solely supported by volunteers and donors and are dedicated to helping rebuild after the storm. We work hard to provide shopping with dignity at a no-cost store located at Foscoe Grandfather Community Center, who donated our wonderful space,” explains Sherrye.
“But our current building lease ends on March 15, 2025, so we are working to raise funds for our permanent home; we see very real needs daily and realize our efforts are needed for years to come,” she continues.
Around the same time that Hurricane Helene made her presence known, Green Mountain Electric Supply began a sock donation campaign, knowing the winter months were fast-approaching.
“Throughout our 70+ year history, GMES has been committed to philanthropic efforts, from spearheading Make-A-Wish sponsorships, organizing fundraising efforts for communities across its footprint, and providing volunteer hours so that employees can support local outreach programs,” stated Dan Underwood, GMES’ Outreach Team lead.
“Typically, donations we collect are reserved for charities and organizations within New England and New York,” continued Dan. “When we saw the devastation from the Hurricane, especially in Western North Carolina where folks are still struggling to repair and rebuild, we decided to reach out beyond our footprint.”
As GMES employees and customers quickly came together to purchase socks for the donation campaign, Green Mountain’s owner Nate Laber stepped in with a sock-for-sock match!
Once the GMES sock donation campaign ended, the warehouse team at GMES headquarters in Colchester, VT took in all 200+ donated pair of socks, boxed them up, and shipped them down to the Foscoe Home Team, where they were graciously received just a few weeks ago.
“I’m so proud of our GMES team for always recognizing the needs of others, coming together to help, and making a lasting impact in our communities and beyond,” said GMES owner Nate Laber. “Our wish is for these deeply impacted areas to bounce back bigger and stronger than ever before.”
If you’d like to learn more about Foscoe Home Team, and how you can help, please visit https://www.foscoehometeam.org. They are also on Facebook under Foscoe Home Team.
