During the “Concert for Carolina” fundraising event on Saturday evening, Oct. 26. at Bank of America Stadium, Country music superstar, Caldwell County native and Avery County resident Eric Church announced that his organization Chief Cares is committing to build at least “100 homes in Avery County and the surrounding area” through an initiative called Blueprint for the Blue Ridge.
“Our mission in North Carolina is to be here for the long haul. We are going to start by immediately building homes for 100 families in Avery County and the surrounding areas, and keeping these communities preserved and rebuilt,” Church said on a pre-recorded video message during the concert which also appears on the organization’s website, chiefcares.com. “We’ve come up with a Blueprint for the Blue Ridge. We are also helping to address longer term needs like creating jobs, rebuilding schools, and supporting local businesses. Often when disaster strikes, funds flow in from great people wanting to help, but when the world turns its eye to the next devastation, a lot can get lost and fall through the cracks. We are committed to the long-term rebuilding of these communities.”
Church, who has written multiple records in Banner Elk during his storied musical career, shared that for many mountain communities the community next door is the first to arrive to help, but that Helene was so destructive that there were no next-door communities to help, so he felt compelled to help fill the gap.
Shortly following the devastation left behind from Hurricane Helene in the High Country and surrounding mountain counties, to provide immediate relief following the devastation of Hurricane Helene while also providing ongoing funds to support a more resilient future for North Carolina, Church announced he signed over all of publishing royalties for a new song to the people of North Carolina. The song, Church’s first new solo release in more than three years, is titled “Darkest Hour” and is currently available.
Concert for Carolina was an all-star music extravaganza held on Saturday, Oct. 26, to directly benefit the people of Western North Carolina through organizations including MANNA FoodBank, Second Harvest Food Bank NWNC, Samaritan’s Purse, Eblen Charities and Chief Cares. The event featured artists including Eric Church, Luke Combs, James Taylor, Billy Strings, Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban, Bailey Zimmerman, the Avett Brothers, Scotty McCreery, Chase Rice and Parmalee.