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- Shared Humanity & Hope: Supporting Emergency Relief after Hurricane Helene
Nearly two weeks after Hurricane Helene’s historic devastation in Western North Carolina, the Jewish Community Center of Asheville is still closed. Much of the surrounding community is without electricity and water, so the JCC has been a source of connection and support wherever possible. Executive Director Ashley Lasher and her team are balancing their own families and the community’s immediate needs with long-term recovery plans.
Lasher had to leave North Carolina briefly after the storm to access a stable internet connection, and the first place she emailed was the Mandel Foundation. Her message relayed images of a community reeling from the loss of life and property, struggling to access basic utilities, food, and safe housing, yet quickly coming together, uplifted by widespread acts of kindness and generosity – including a "Fill for Flushing" initiative, where community members without access to water can bring containers and fill them at the JCC pool so they can flush toilets at home. This access to water is available to the entire Asheville community, and they are also delivering non-potable water to other community locations, such as women’s shelters and temporary housing for emergency relief workers (pictured above).
The instinct to turn to the Mandel Foundation during such an emergency is rooted in a longstanding relationship between the two organizations, most notably a $4 million capital campaign challenge grant designated by Mort Mandel honoring his daughter Amy Mandel, a longtime Asheville resident and community activist.
Within days of receiving Lasher’s email, the Mandel Foundation approved several grants contributing to crisis response efforts, including a grant of $100,000 to Asheville JCC. Development Director, Lindsey Cotner, said, “I can't even begin to express my gratitude for this. What an absolute relief it was to receive this email,” and Lasher described the news as the first sense of relief she felt since the storm hit several days earlier. These funds will ensure the JCC’s dedicated staff members will continue to be paid throughout the crisis closure, and the nonprofit will also provide tuition and fee reimbursement to any JCC family who needs financial support during the month of October.
The Foundation also approved a grant of $50,000 for Tzedek, a social justice philanthropic foundation established by Amy Mandel, which supplemented other generous gifts made by Mandel family members. Tzedek is dedicated to funding the work of Asheville grassroots organizations, collectives and cooperatives, and local leaders since the late 1980s. The work of Tzedek is centered on LGBTQ justice, racial justice, and dismantling antisemitism, and their hurricane relief efforts will focus on moving funds, collaborating with partners, and supporting local organizations to ensure critical resources are available where they are most needed.
As a step toward long-term recovery that will take years, the Mandel Foundation also approved a $150,000 grant to NECHAMA—Jewish Response to Disaster, the only national Jewish organization that provides response and recovery services within the United States. NECHAMA is currently organizing a six-month deployment in western North Carolina with expected operational costs of nearly $600,000. Funding from the Mandel Foundation will support operations, volunteer management, food, travel, tools, and lodging for emergency relief efforts.
In the shadow of such overwhelming devastation and need, all of the organizations supported by the Foundation expressed a deep sense of hope and connection, captured well by the Tzedek social justice fund leadership message, “If anything, Helene’s lesson is one of unlimited human possibility when we move united in the spirit of shared humanity—empowered, resilient, creative, and deeply invested in the people and future of our Western North Carolina home.”