‘Changing lives’: Nonprofit constructs new beginnings after Hurricane Helene

YANCEY COUNTY, N.C. — In the middle of the rubble and destruction left behind from Hurricane Helene, a nonprofit is building homes and giving hope to victims who lost everything.

They’re called We Must Protect. They say they are building homes from the ground up, and they don’t plan to leave until the need is met.

“This project is really special,” V Bellord, executive director at We Must Protect, told Channel 9’s Hannah Goetz.

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Bellord said they never planned to build. The organization, which supports communities during times of crisis, started out supplying heaters, generators, and fuel to those who were displaced.

“As we kept coming back, just meeting with the community, people kept saying, ‘We don’t need another heater, we need a home,’” she said.

That’s when Bellord and the team at We Must Protect started “Operation Rebuild.”

Bellord said the group is currently rebuilding ten new homes — each one modified to the individual family.

“This is their forever home,” Bellord said. “You want them to have a part in picking it out, and you want them to be happy.”

Danny and Ashley Pogalz and their four children lost everything when their house washed away during the storm. They felt like they fell through the cracks of federal funding and large nonprofits, but We Must Protect was able to raise enough money to build them a new home, thanks to a nationwide fundraiser by Montana Knife Company and country music singer Chase Rice.

“When you see your family members, your community hurting, it doesn’t take a lot of effort to do something,” Josh Smith, CEO of Montana Knife Company, said.

With the help of hundreds of volunteers and donations like the ones that helped the Pogalz family, We Must Protect has promised to continue to make a difference one house at a time.

“It’s changing lives, and it’s generational impact because now they’ll have a home to pass down to their kids and their kids,” Bellord said. “As long as the funding comes in, we will continue to build.”

To support the Operation Rebuild mission, visit the We Must Protect website for more information.

VIDEO: Burke County couple returns home after Helene floodwaters devastate property