What We’ve Accomplished Together in One Month

Nothing Short of Incredible

Happy Halloween from my family last weekend. Matt behind camera.

I used to grapple with the feeling that my contributions were primarily at home with my children, with little space to combine my passions without compromising my priority—being present with my family and keeping up with school functions and all the important days! We keep telling mothers that this is a season and that we’ll have room for new ventures when it lifts. But I’ll tell you: you can do both. There are paths, and I’ve carved one out for us. It may be small, but it’s mighty. And it means a lot.

This is how the last month in our house went: Matt traveling, two hurricanes knocking out four of our hotels, Matt sick, Ollie with walking pneumonia and double ear infections, me with a head cold, Morgan sick, then Matt with pneumonia...

With everything going on, my heart still ached for those who lost their homes and livelihoods in Western North Carolina and Western Florida. So between nursing my stuffy-nosed baby and sucking her boogers out with the snot sucker (Kind of amazing), I used my phone to create a GoFundMe to provide aid to people in need, and began texting friends for essentials or donations. One thing led to another…

In just one month, what we’ve accomplished together for Chimney Rock, NC, St. Pete Beach, FL, and rural communities of Western North Carolina is nothing short of incredible. Through decentralized, heart-driven generosity, we met urgent needs faster than I ever thought possible—without the red tape of traditional channels slowing us down. I’ve realized that there’s room for both types of giving, but foundation and nonprofit paths are often burdened with red tape. We can write grants earmarked for rebuilding, but we can’t put $200 in an envelope to hand directly to a family. Sometimes that kind of help is urgently needed.

So that’s what we did. Between essentials and cash, we raised $130,000!

We put together $200-$300 cash envelopes, delivered anonymously to families in need. We left envelopes on doorsteps, sent digital payments, and covered urgent bills to keep families going. This direct giving has made a lifesaving difference, something we couldn’t have done through traditional channels. Thank you for every dollar donated—many left anonymously in my mail slot. You are true angels. Thank you for trusting us to deliver your resources to families in need.

And here’s a heartwarming update: one recipient posted a photo of the envelope they received on Facebook, and it was shared hundreds of thousands of times with so many positive comments. I love when good news spreads, and I’m glad we could help this family, though I wish we could have done even more. (Maybe we still can…more on this soon.)

Another HUGE update: I reached out to my friend Marci about helping families in WNC. She mentioned some ideas, like GoFundMe or shipping essentials to me via Amazon. But instead, her husband, Matt, texted back, “Here’s the deal. We’re sending five pallets of diapers, a pallet of wipes, and a pallet of baby and children’s cough syrup to you to donate to hurricane victims in rural WNC and Chimney Rock, NC.”

Thanks to my dad’s friendship with the local fire chief (thank you to the Lake Toxaway Fire Department!), we were able to receive a semi-truck filled with $70,000 worth of baby essentials last week. It’s being distributed to families in need as you read this (picture of all the pallets of baby items above). A huge thank you to the Hyland’s Hello Bello team, especially Will Righeimer, Annie Chen, Ellianna DeGuzman, Nathan Easley, Martha Arias, Peter J. McLaughlin, and Matt Tatham—your kindness is a class act!

I still can’t believe that in one month, we’ve raised over $130,000 in cash and essentials for relief efforts!!!!

This experience has shown me the powerful impact we can make—not just through large nonprofit giving, but through our everyday channels. People like you and me. Moms shuttling children to and from practices and doctor’s appointments, individuals home sick but still able to move dollars on their mobile phone from from their bank account to a GoFundMe page, a pharmacist reaching into her pocketbook to give me a $50 to buy more essentials to send… We did this all through texts, Facebook and Instagram shares, and this newsletter…we may not be huge influencers, but together we’ve done more than anyone could have alone.

I kept telling my friends and laughing with my mom about the times when I was younger, and I used to go door to door in my neighborhood selling Joe Corbi’s frozen pizzas to fundraise for my summer softball travels. There is nothing that prepared me better for fundraising than simple knocking on doors and talking to people face to face. In a world that’s so polished and behind a screen these days, it made all the difference to send personal messages and have you all reshare the fundraising efforts with your own stories attached to them.

Thank you. Thank you!

Decentralized giving, whether it’s through GoFundMe, a toy drive, or cash being dropped through a mail slot is extraordinary. It’s something any of us can do, no matter how busy our lives are.

Now, I’m regrouping after this incredible giving push, and setting sights on holiday support.

Stay tuned for my holiday initiative to bring joy and hope to families—and children— in need. We won’t forget our friends in WNC. Together, we’ll continue showing them they’re seen, loved, and remembered.

Thank you for being part of this beautiful movement of love and hope. Even in times of grief and great loss, I’m glad to know we can feel joy and the purity of goodness.

From the heart,

Emily