NC native Eric Church buys property for Helene victims

Last week, country music legend and NC native Eric Church purchased land through his non-profit, Chief Cares. The property purchased by the nonprofit is in Avery County, where Church and his wife, Katherine, plan to build at least 40 homes for Helene victims. 

Just one month after Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina, east Tennessee, and parts of other states, Eric Church performed at the Concert for Carolina alongside Luke Combs, James Taylor, Keith Urban, Bailey Zimmerman, Scotty McCreery, and others. The event drew more than 82,000 attendees and raised nearly $25 million for hurricane victims, with the proceeds split between Church and Combs for relief efforts. During the concert, Church announced his plan to use his share of the funds to build 100 homes in 100 days. The homes in Avery County are part of this initiative.

The nonprofit plans to build a 40 to 50-home neighborhood in Avery County. They plan to break ground on the neighborhood in April and hope to have people in homes by June, according to WCNC Charlotte. 

Church has dubbed his initiative A Blueprint for the Blue Ridge. “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,” according to the website. “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.”

In October, Church and former Gov. Roy Cooper visited Banner Elk following Hurricane Helene. 

“Anytime a disaster happens, and this is not just in North Carolina, this is nationwide, we’re pretty good at the 9-11- part, we show up and we help them immediately,” said Church in October. “A lot of times what happens, people get displaced, they get moved to better infrastructure, and I think that keeping them and them having a chance to be in the community is what’s going to rebuild it. So not just now with the first 100 homes, but we hope to do even more with that from a scalable standpoint as we go forward.” 

The Chief Cares Fund is currently directing all its efforts toward communities directly affected by the damage caused by Helene. According to a press release, Chief Cares will assist not only North Carolina but all states and communities impacted by Helene “from Appalachia to the Gulf.”

“We are devastated by the unimaginable destruction in the surrounding region, and especially the mountains of western North Carolina,” according to the website. “These are our family members, friends, and neighbors. The whole area is in dire need of help. Anyone who knows anything about me, knows what North Carolina, and specifically this area in the mountains means to me personally, as well as creatively.” 

In addition, Church has signed over all the publishing royalties to “Darkest Hour,”  his latest release in more than three years, to the people of North Carolina. Church performed ‘Darkest Hour’ live at the 2024 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards in November, during which, on the screen behind him, photos depicting communities impacted were displayed. 

“From Western North Carolina, East Tennessee, Upstate South Carolina, parts of Georgia and even Florida which took a direct hit, there are so many places that were impacted,” said Church. “This song, ‘Darkest Hour,’ was the best way I could think to try to help. We’ve been helping with boots on the ground efforts, but this is something that will live beyond just the immediate recovery. This is not a quick thing to fix, so hopefully ‘Darkest Hour’ will be able to contribute to that for a long time to come. This song goes to my home, North Carolina, now and forever.”

Learn more here about housing assistance through Chief Cares.

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