Helping out their home state in a huge way.
Last fall, Eric Church and Luke Combs hosted their Concert For Carolina benefit show, which ended up raising over $24.5 million for residents in western North Carolina that were devastated by historic flooding from Hurricane Helene. Of course, both Eric and Luke have very personal ties to the area, as Luke grew up in Asheville from the time he was eight years old. Eric grew up in Granite Falls, which sits in the foothills of the mountains, and both are Appalachian State University alumni.
They said before, and during, the concert that every last penny would go towards helping those affected by the hurricane, with Combs’ portion being distributed between Samaritan’s Purse, Manna Food Bank, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC and Eblen Charities. Church’s 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.
Church has already purchased the land in Avery county where the homes will be built, and they’re hoping to have them ready by this summer. But because the internet is the internet, they initially received some criticism from people wanting to know where the money was, implying that they hadn’t kept their word and gotten it to the right places. Of course, much of that stems from the lack of assistance from both the state and federal government in the previous administrations, which left so many people out in the cold, quite literally, this winter, and many were understandably frustrated, unfairly placing the blame on Combs and Church…
Obviously, $24 million is a lot of money, but the damage is worth billions, and they can only do so much, as we all know. I’m not in any way taking away from the amazing work they’ve done, and will continue to do, but they’re not Uncle Sam and don’t have unlimited funds, but I digress.
In an extensive article by Nora O’Neill in the Charlotte Observer today, she broke down exactly where the money went and spoke to locals about how it has already helped.
The Chief Cares CEO John Blackburn said they bought $850,000 worth of land with the money from the concert, saying it wouldn’t have been possible without the benefit concert:
“This is our passion. This is our project. So it means a great deal to us that all those folks came together and put that concert together. I wouldn’t be here today trying to build houses for folks if they had not done the Concert for Carolina.”
They already received over $12 million in funds in January, after officially becoming a certified 501(c)(3). The money first went to the Tepper Foundation, which was founded by Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper, until it could be transferred to Chief Cares.
In terms of Combs’ portion, Manna Food Bank in particular needed a lot of help, as they lost their entire facility in the storm and used part of the $3.1 million to start to rebuild, in addition to donating more food to locals, which was about 4.5 million meals in total.
Micah Chrisman, the director of marketing and communications for the Food Bank, says they had to start with the ground up. They distribute to over 16 counties in Western North Carolina through 220 partner agencies, so it’s a huge operation:
“We lost our whole facility, all of our operational equipment, resources, food reserves, all that was destroyed in the flood. So the Concert for Carolina has directly helped us with our operational capacity to do that. We’ve had to start from the ground up.
We’re just so thankful to [them] and we couldn’t be more proud to just share how incredible of a work and feat that they’ve done, and so quickly too. Just think about how desperate our communities have been, and for folks like Luke Combs to help rally around us and to get that national exposure around it, I think, is the most pivotal and amazing part about the whole experience.”
Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina received $2.7 million from the concert and, CEO Eric Aft says the money came in very fast after the show. They provided over 900,000 meals with the money, and he says it’s been “humbling” to see how much Combs stepped up:
“To see the outpouring of support, the commitment from the community, to say ‘we want to help our neighbors heal,’ it’s humbling, it’s inspiring and motivating.”
Second Harvest Food Bank also works closely with school systems, government agencies and partner organizations to determine the community’s largest needs, so they go beyond just giving out meals to individuals families, which is huge especially when so many have been displaced in a situation like Hurricane Helene brought.
Both Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina and Manna Food Bank expect a third installment from the money soon to continue to do incredible work in and around Western North Carolina.
I think it’s important for fans (and critics) to see all of these numbers and facts, because yes, all of the money has been distributed exactly where they said it would go, and in a very fast manner. Eric and Luke have stepped up in an amazing way, and the practical, real help they’re giving people in their home state is so above and beyond what anyone expected and a true testament to their character and heart.
As a fellow North Carolinian who loves WNC as much as they both do, they make me, and everyone else involved, so proud. These two men deserve all the praise and recognition for what they’ve done, and I’m more than happy to spotlight them and brag on them as much as I possibly can. They showed up when they were needed the most, and have continued to provide aid, relief, and hope to a region that has experienced unimaginable suffering.
They put their money where their mouths are, so to speak, and that’s a rare quality indeed… especially when you’re giving away millions of dollars to people who have lost everything.
