Our infrastructure after 20+ years of business was quite challenged in 2020 when the COVID shutdown occurred. We have been focused since on rebuilding better, and all that we have rebuilt every day since October 2020 [1,457 days // 17,484 hours of work by our owner, Celeste Gray, alone] has been destroyed. To say that this has taken a toll is an understatement.
As is the case for too many, insurance does not cover the damages caused by the hurricane. The disaster assistance by SBA is limited due toa pause in Congressional funding.
The owner of Asheville Stay, Celeste Gray, has been a community leader for decades in Asheville:
- an advocate and activist for local foods & farms, providing CSA subscriptions to families
- producer of food & environmental film festival, supporter of countless documentaries
- major contributor to the Arts of Asheville, creator
- producer, funding 50+ films by independent filmmakers
- source of income for many local families and independent contractors hired to keep Asheville Stay going
- supporter of many small businesses and startups
- founding sponsor of Connect Beyond Festival, and various other indie, community-supported ventures
- mentor to many business owners, and to young adults
- contributor to youth arts and sports
- has hosted many thousands of you who made memories in Asheville
Celeste though displaced herself, has been helping others in the community every moment since the storm after digging out of being buried under trees herself for 5 days, thanks to neighbours showing up with chainsaws to come to her rescue.
The young adults she mentors and Celeste are assisting elders in her immediate neighbourhood, to stablize before reaching the wider community. Celeste, a visionary with a big heart for humanity is not lacking in ideas of how to help the greater community, and she will no doubt make massive contributions to many lives in the region. It’s just her way.
Celeste has turned her attention completely toward helping others so much that her own situation has been secondary in her focus. I overheard a longtime acquaintence of Celeste say to her a few days ago, “you’ve always been much more focused on community than on yourself.”
Two tractor trailer loads of goods are being delivered this coming week (first week of November) to Asheville by a friend of Celeste in Nashville, TN.
Stay tuned for more ways to contribute to our efforts in Asheville to help displaced locals and more! We are intending to utilize our resources of decades to establish emergency temporary homes and longterm permanent homes for those who have lost everything.
WAYS TO HELP
initial steps
gift points for those displaced
transfer points for those displaced
more coming soon