Anyone affected by the ravages of Hurricane Helene nearly a year ago will never forget its monstrous wrath. According to the University of South Carolina, "Its near-record-breaking size, storm surge, winds and rainfall together turned Helene into an almost unimaginable disaster...." What does that mean? The storm spread destruction across six states and killed 230 people. Communities were inundated with water, infrastructure was destroyed, and homes got reduced to rubble. Some areas received almost two feet of rain. The Pogalz family was seriously impacted by Helene. But although they lost their home, they were the beneficiaries of immense generosity, including country music star Chase Rice.
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Their Home Was Destroyed By Helene And FEMA Was Slow To Assist Them
Per WSOC-TV, their Yancey County, North Carolina, home was swept away by raging waters from the hurricane. But that was not the only bad news for them. FEMA was slow to assist them with funds for the costly rebuilding process.
Ashley Pogalz shared her distress and disappointment with Hannah Goetz of Channel 9. "We make too much money for help, and that's not fair, because the hurricane didn't ask us how much money we made before it took everything. So why? Why does it matter how much we make? We need help."
The six-person family was struggling. They lived in temporary rentals, campers, and trailers. But they wanted and needed a real home again to put down roots.
The Pogalz Family's Story Moved People To Help Them
A trio of compassionate resources stepped up to aid the family. Flood insurance, plus some money from FEMA, allowed then to buy land to rebuild, but much more was needed.
Fortunately, there would be more help for them from various sources. There was We Must Protect, a non-profit, country music star Chase Rice, and Josh Smith, the CEO of Montana Knife Company.
Smith said the words the Pogalzes wanted to hear so badly. "We raised quite a bit of money. We raised enough money to build you guys a house."
People from We Must Protect thanked Rice and Smith warmly when speaking to the Pogalz family. "From the first day we met you all, we knew we wanted to build you a house, but our thing is we can't commit until we have the funding to finish the house. We are so grateful for what Chase and Montana Knife Company did because now we can build you the house that you need."
Rice Struck A Spiritual Note When Meeting The Family
Per the outlet, he said, "There's so many different things that came together. I'd say the number one thing coming together was God, putting all these people together to make this family finally have a home."
