Going above and beyond.
Recently, Eric Church and his team announced that through his foundation Chief Cares and the money they raised during their star-studded Concert For Carolina, they had purchased land outside of Newland in Avery County to build at least 40 homes for those who lost everything during Hurricane Helene.
They’re set to break ground on the project this April, and they’re targeting for 100 homes to be move in-ready by June, with keys in hand for the new owners, and just this week, they opened a full-blown office in Newland.
This week, The Avery Times also confirmed that Chief Cares opened an office that is located at the Newland Town Hall, where they will work on applications and the rest of the process for those receiving homes as they get closer to being build. Chief Cares team members will be their daily from 9 a.m to 1 p.m., for anyone who has questions or interest in the project.
I had no idea that they were setting up an office and entire team there, but it really goes to show just how much Eric cares about this and everything he’s willing to do to make sure it gets done properly and as quickly (and safely) as possible.
Hurricane Helene made landfall in western Florida in September, and here we are now in February, and the devastation is still overwhelming, particularly in western North Carolina. The Category 4 hurricane brought sustained winds over 100 miles per hour, and mostly as a result of the flooding that followed, over 230 people people lost their lives. More than half of them in North Carolina.
Eric Church is of course a North Carolina native, and he immediately stepped up and released “Darkest Hour,” signing over all the rights to the song to the people of North Carolina. Then, he teamed up with fellow North Carolina native and country music superstar, Luke Combs, for the aforementioned Concert for Carolina, an all-star charity show at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The two were able to raise a whopping $24 million for those affected by the storm.
The project is officially titled “Blueprint for the Blue Ridge,” and Eric said this about it:
“Any time a community needs help, it’s always the community next door that comes running to help. And there are no communities next door. They’ve all been devastated. So we’ve made it our mission at Chief Cares that we’re going to be the community next door…
We’re going to go and keep those people in their community, put a roof over their head, let ’em interact with their community, let ’em be a part of their community, and let ’em help rebuild the community.
It goes way beyond 100 homes. I hope it’s a lot of homes. A lot more than 100 homes. I hope it’s about building the businesses and building the community back. That’s what we’re committing to at Chief Cares, and we would love your help.”
He also talked about how special the area is to him personally:
“I’ve wrote every album of my career but one in Avery county, right here. So creatively it’s been real special to me, but spiritually it’s the place that my soul’s at rest. It’s the place that I get away from what I do in the world to come here and recharge. So it’s the most special place in the world to me, the mountains of this area.”
Eric has a home in Avery county himself, and obviously this is all very personal to him. It’s just been amazing to see him step up like this in such a huge way. In fact, the project would’ve actually been done sooner had winter weather not delayed the build, but they also had to have engineers come in to look at everything and lay new roads, as well as sewer and water lines. The new neighborhood is also planning to have a community center and hiking trails.
It’s going to be an impressive project once it’s said and done, and it’s clear that Eric is going to see this thing through and make sure it’s done right.
🚨#BREAKING: Country music star, Eric Church confirms he is donating 40 homes to victims of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina.
He is building an ENTIRE neighborhood with a community center and hiking trails.
The keys to the 1st home will be handed to families in June. pic.twitter.com/VqsgeNtfpy
— Matt Van Swol (@matt_vanswol) February 15, 2025
