More than 80,000 Americans from across North Carolina and across the country traveled there Charlotte for Concert for Carolina on Saturday, a benefit show with 100% of the proceeds donated to those affected by Hurricane Helene in the western part of the state.
Country music stars Luke Combs and Eric Churchwho are both from western North Carolina, hosted the star-studded show that featured performances by James Taylor, Keith Urban, Billy Strings and others, plus surprise performances by Nicole Kidman and Randy Travis, to help those affected by Helene and ultimately raising $24.5 million.
“I’ve been volunteering with hurricane relief, and I see where they need a lot more help than what they’re getting, so this is a great opportunity to listen to music, which I love, and help the people who need it Most have been left behind by the people who were supposed to be helping them,” Jessica White of eastern Tennessee told Fox News Digital.
She added that people are still “sleeping in tents” as temperatures drop in the mountains.
Luke Combs and Eric Church Raise More Than $24.5 Million for Hurricane Victims During Star-Studded Concert for Carolina
Jessica White, who has volunteered in western North Carolina, says people affected by Hurricane Helene have been “left behind.”
“That’s terrible. And it’s even more devastating when we have illegal aliens sleeping in hotels while our own taxpaying citizens sleep in tents because a hurricane destroyed their home,” White added.
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Sherry from Denver, North Carolina, echoed that same sentiment.
Hurricane Helene Relief Concert brings country stars Luke Combs and Eric Church back home to North Carolina
Sherry from Denver, NC, thinks “a majority of the country has moved on and has no idea there are still people sleeping in tents.”
“I think if we did for our American citizens what we have done for illegal newcomers to this country, we would be in a much better place,” she said, adding that she thinks “a majority of the country is further and has no idea that people are still sleeping in tents.”
Many of those who spoke to Fox News Digital on Saturday had seen the devastation in the areas around Asheville firsthand as they drove hours from home to deliver supplies and volunteer to help people rebuild.
Many of those who spoke to Fox News Digital on Saturday had seen the devastation in the areas around Asheville firsthand as they drove hours from home to deliver supplies and volunteer to help people rebuild.
An Avery County family said a tree fell on their house during the storm and they drove to Charlotte for the concert to escape the stress they had been dealing with for the past month.
Church announced on the show that his charity, Chief Cares, was donating 100 homes for those in need after Helene, killing 98 people in North Carolina alone and more than 250 in the Southeast. North Carolina Governor Cooper estimates the damage to the state is about $53 billion.
Luke Combs and Eric Church perform at Concert For Carolina at Bank of America Stadium on October 26, 2024 in Charlotte, NC
“We came up with a plan called Blueprint for the Blue Ridge. We will be housing 100 families who have lost their homes in Avery County and surrounding areas – one of the hardest hit areas. I spent half my years, an area where I had a lot of inspiration and a lot of inspiration, in an area where I made five records. And we’re going to keep those people in their communities, put a roof over their heads, let them interact with their community, let them be part of their community and let them help rebuild the community.
Hosts Marty Smith of ESPN and Caleb Pressley of Barstool Sports announced on the show that Dolly Parton had donated $1 million to Concert for Carolina through a donation from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, which he dedicated to Dolly specifically “to focus on the causes she cares about,” Smith said Saturday.
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Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman speak at the Concert For Carolina at Bank of America Stadium on October 26, 2024 in Charlotte, NC
Earlier this month, the country legend donated $1 million of her own money the Mountain Ways Foundation to support Hurricane Helene relief efforts. Parton’s Dollywood also contributed another $1 million to the relief effort.
On Saturday morning before the show, Church and Combs shared stories with Fox News Digital about their memories of Western North Carolina as they reflected on the mass destruction caused by Helene.
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The stadium lit up during Eric Church’s performance at the Concert for Carolina.
“I remember there was a video of an area I knew well in western North Carolina, and… I didn’t know what I was looking at. It was mind-blowing to me to see this area that I grew up in, that I knew, that I no longer recognized,” Church said.
WATCH: LUKE COMBS AND ERIC CHURCH REMEMBER PHOTOS OF DEVASTATION
Combs recalled a U-Haul dealership where he was fired as a teenager.
“There’s a Walgreens on one side of Tunnel Road, and there’s a U-Haul dealer on the other side, and I worked at that particular U-Haul dealer for a summer. I got laid off and… I came home, I was probably 20 years old and I told my parents I was fired. They knew that was a lie,” Combs recalls.
Combs added that it was “sobering to see so many places where” he had walked with his “own two feet, especially in Asheville” destroyed by the hurricane. He mentioned MANNA Food Bank, one of his chosen charities that benefited from the Concert for Carolina show and where he and his mother used to volunteer, suffered serious damage from the storm.
James Taylor performs at the Concert For Carolina at Bank of America Stadium on October 26, 2024 in Charlotte, NC
“A very special place to me. It holds a lot of memories, and I just hate to see the condition it’s in,” Combs said.
All proceeds will be divided equally among Combs and Church organizations of their choice to support relief efforts in the Carolinas and the Southeast, according to a news release.
Combs’ share will be distributed to Samaritan’s Purse, MANNA Food Bank and Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC.
The church’s organization, Chief Cares, focuses on helping established charities and organizations that are well managed and organized and can expedite relief directly to the families affected by Hurricane Helene.
Fox News’ Ashley Hume contributed to this report.
Original article source: Victims of North Carolina’s Helene ‘left behind’ get help from star-studded Concert for Carolina