“We all need to rally behind an affiliate that has had that much tragedy,” said Mitch Rhodes, chief operating officer of Habitat for Humanity of Wake County. Wake’s five ReStores—together with Asheville and Charlotte ReStores, and many others across the state including ReStore Catawba Valley—are designating Nov. 17 ReStore sales to benefit Fayetteville’s rebuilding efforts.
The 93 Fayetteville Habitat homes that were swamped by the flooding on Oct. 8 represented more than half of the 154 houses built by the affiliate over the past 30 years.
Greg Kirkpatrick, executive director of Habitat for Humanity N.C. in Raleigh is coordinating the effort to get all 78 ReStores in North Carolina behind the drive to respond to the crisis in Fayetteville’s Habitat village.
“We asked the ReStores to consider doing something we’re calling ReStore Fayetteville,” said Kirkpatrick, who added that the response has been wildly enthusiastic. He hopes that the 78 ReStores across the state can raise as much as $100,000 for Fayetteville.
Many of the flood victims are staying with friends or family; many have had to find rooms to rent. Only 27 of the homeowners had flood insurance.
But Tammy Laurence, director of Habitat’s Fayetteville area affiliate, sees light amid the chaos that has engulfed the homeowners.
“The support from our partner affiliates again reveals the best that Habitat calls out in each of us. Thanks to our Habitat partner affiliates, these funds will help us rebuild homes and restore hope. We are grateful. Hurricane Matthew tore through Fayetteville’s Habitat village leaving broken hearts and broken homes. But the flood cannot quench the great spirit that animates these homeowners and this community. We will rebuild.”
Click here to learn more about the Habitat Catawba Valley ReStore.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY 2016 – HURRICANE MATTHEW JERFILM PRODUCTIONS on Vimeo.
