Rising Tide for Appalachia
Donate to Help Appalachia Recover from Hurricane Helene
Hurricane Helene has unimaginably impacted the cider, hospitality and apple growing communities of Western North Carolina and surrounding Appalachia. When we spoke to our members in the region after the storm, they were very concerned about the hospitality professionals and orchardists whose livelihoods have been put on an indefinite hold until things like running water and clear roads are restored.
We’ve seen the cider industry show up for those in need before. We’re asking our members to rise up and support the professionals impacted by Helene on behalf of the cider community in Helene’s path.
We’re calling this joint fundraising effort “Rising Tide,” on the recommendation of our member Lyndon Smith at Botanist & Barrel. It’s a play on both the impact of the storm, but the even more powerful impact of collective action–A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats.
We’re collecting donations for our Rising Tide campaign through our website and passing 100% of them onto the Southern Smoke Foundation, who supports hospitality workers and farmers with emergency relief funds. By pooling the donations, Southern Smoke will earmark the donations to all go toward those impacted by Hurricane Helene. You can collect donations through a special cider, a % of sales from an event, or other creative ways to build visibility and solicit donations for this community in need.
You can’t rebuild a cider business without a thriving hospitality industry and local farms, so let’s help the region get back on its feet. It’s going to take a group effort, and we know we can count on each other.
Stay in touch with cideries in the region by following them and supporting them on Instagram:
