Mocha Mott’s in Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven are collecting funds to help storm-ravaged communities of Western Carolina, some of the hardest hit by Hurricane Helene.
Tim Dobel, co-owner of the iconic Island coffee shops, was a longtime resident of Marion — a city 40-minutes west of Asheville, North Carolina — and he is hearing first hand accounts from friends about the damage.
“The devastation down there is unimaginable,” Dobel told The Times. “One of my favorite things to do was drive up into the mountains in these little communities. And some of them, they are just gone. It is staggering.”
In an effort to help the region, Mocha Mott’s has set up buckets at each of their locations for anyone to donate cash. Dobel and his business partner Meredith Aldrich will match any dollar submitted. So far, they’ve raised $1,000 and have matched with another $1,000.
Dobel said that they are donating the money to two organizations: BeLoved Asheville, a local organization that provides clothing and food to those impacted; and Grassroots AID Partnership, a larger group that helps grassroots organizations. He also plans to give money to buy sleeping bags and generators to a friend traveling to the area. “It’s starting to get cold,” he said.
For the Mocha Mott’s co-owner, Dobel worries about the recovery and how long it will take. Much of the economy in Asheville and surrounding area rely on tourism, and it’s unlikely many will be visiting with restaurants and art galleries wiped out. He sympathizes with the businesses in the area, wondering what he would do if a major hurricane struck.
“If a hurricane and a flood went through and took out the best parts of Vineyard Haven, Oak Bluffs and Edgartown, what would we do?” Dobel said. “The biggest issue is, how are they going to make a living?”
Dobel and Mocha Mott’s aren’t the only ones on the Island offering help. A group is sending a truck full of donated goods to South Carolina, potentially leaving the Island Wednesday.
Good! Don’t wait for bankrupt FEMA or incompetent Biden/Harris administration!
Peter– yet another lie. FEMA is not bankrupt. It just received
20 billion dollars in funding from congress before they went
on vacation. And no money has been transferred out of the
FEMA funding to house immigrants.it is illegal to do it
But it did happen
once in this country. That was in 2019.
And while I am at it, trump lied about the governor of
Georgia not being able to contact Biden. Unless of course
you believe trump and think that kemp and Biden are just lying.
And why don’t you look up what all the governors of all the
affected states are saying about FEMA’s response.
In the meantime, there is a great need and I applaud the
efforts of anyone helping, in whatever way they can.
Peter you are exactly right. FEMA gave over 100 million dollars to New York to fund their open border policies. This is a fact that liberals will now tell you is a lie. Just more gaslighting and ineptness from progressives who govern through feeling instead of logic.
Please see the link posted with the facts.
https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2023/06/07/fema-money-to-nyc-asylum-seekers
Our government takes our money and gives it to foreign interest and illegal immigrants. They have let our own citizens down yet again.
There are more than one departments that FEMA oversees. The money for disaster relief is not used (except for once in 2019 by your boy) for any other purpose. There is FEMA money for housing immigrants. That is different.
Mayorkis, a fool, admitted just ladt week that FEMA was running our of money. Where did it go? FEMA and DHS need to be audited. Confidence in the biden/harris administration is rock bottom. (Only 27% of voters think the country is on the right track. November can’t come soon enough!
True patriots do not want government handouts.
Don’t be presumptuous, Pete, about the current administration not responding to the Carolinas plight. If Trump, the convicted felon, was in office, he would be tossing out rolls of paper or selling bibles as just another one of his notorious publicity stunts.
You have been listening to too much Fox.
Republicans in Congress were the only “no” votes for replenishing the disaster relief funds for FEMA. It was publicly reported.
Why would anyone lie about that? What would anyone hope to gain by telling lies?
What would a hurricane do the Island Bridge
Albert, we can look at ways of extracting the heat from the ocean so we don’t have as many big storms.
Please don’t politicize this tragedy. Nothing is perfect. The problem is so large it will take us all including government both Federal and local to help these folks to get back on feet. Complaining does nothing, do something to help.