As we approach the end of 2025, we are filled with gratitude for our community partners and participants. Our local community faced unprecedented challenges this past year in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

So many of us were left feeling disconnected and uncertain after the storm but, thanks to you, our team was able to mobilize quickly to provide opportunities for vital connection and learning.

This year alone, nearly 6,000 attendees, from all walks of life, participated in our educational workshops and events, offering people of all ages to learn and explore new ways to care for themselves and others when it matters most.

With support from NC DHHS and Vaya Health, we were able to expand our reach to support community members from all walks of life in their healing and recovery journey. About half of our events were available in person across the hardest-hit  mountain towns and rural counties, while the rest were offered in an accessible virtual setting.

Let’s take a look back at our impact this past year..

LOOKING BACK

We responded immediately—and haven’t stopped.

Within days of Hurricane Helene’s landfall in WNC, the Resources for Resilience team had boots on the ground for in-person crisis response, supplying dozens of hours of support at emergency centers, community hubs, and distribution sites. Since then, we’ve continued to meet people where they are—both online and in person—with resilience-focused support for healing and recovery.

We’ve delivered hundreds of free offerings across WNC.

In 2025, we completed hundreds of specialized workshops across the 25 Helene-impacted counties. 

Looking back at the numbers*…

• • • Acute Crisis Response: 23 hours in the immediate aftermath of the storm
    • Resiliency Champions: 2 events, 28 participants
    • Educator Essentials: 4 events, 116 participants
    • Leading Through Hard Times: 7 events, 124 participants
    • Learning Community: 5 events, 28 participants
    • Listening Circles: 178 events, 1044 participants
    • Listening Circle Facilitator Training: 2 events, 41 participants
    • Listening Circle Facilitator Refresher: 2 events, 31 participants
    • Recharging Resilience: 1 event, 16 participants
    • Reconnect for Better Days: 14 events, 128 participants
    • Reconnect for Resilience (English): 11 events, 216 participants 
    • Reconnect for Resilience (Spanish): 1 event, 16 participants
    • Reconnect Refresher: 1 event, 5 participants
    • Reconnecting Through Hard Times: 101 events, 1360 participants
    • Resilient Connections: 1 event, 0 participants
    • Resilient Family Adventure: 4 events, 1119 participants
    • Resource Fairs: 11 events, 1052 participants
    • Specialty Presentations: 10 events, 566 participants

We launched several new community-informed programs.

We created several new offerings in direct response to post-Helene needs:

• “Reconnecting Through Hard Times”: A 1-hour, no-cost training that equips helpers with practical tools for supporting others after a crisis
• “Resilient Family Adventure”: A nature-based, child-friendly experience designed to help families build emotional regulation and connection through play
• “Recharging Resilience”: A one-day program to boost self-care and comfort for the most giving helpers in our communities

We provided deep impact through frontline community care.

We’ve prioritized supporting those most at risk for burnout: first responders, educators, healthcare workers, behavioral health providers, and volunteers. Our workshops, trainings, and other community offerings are FREE, ongoing, and tailored to both emotional care and practical tools.

We expanded our team, and thus our capacity and reach.

Thanks to our generous funders, Resources for Resilience has been able to expand our team, further strengthening our capacity to deliver trainings, support community recovery, and develop tailored resilience tools. This growth allows us to reach more neighborhoods, respond more quickly to local needs, and deepen our partnerships while maintaining the grassroots values that guide our work.

• 4 new community outreach specialists
• 1 new project management coordinator
• 2 new marketing and communications team members
• 45 event support volunteers

We became a nationally recognized nonprofit organization.

Our staff have been featured in expert interviews, roundtables, and national media for their compassionate, science-based approach to disaster response. Our Helene response was highlighted in the following local and national publications and outlets:

• The Weather Channel
• FEMA
• CNN
• NPR
• WLOS
• WFAE
• and many more

These media opportunities highlight both our impact and our leadership in trauma-informed community recovery.

We’re not just helping people survive—we’re helping them heal.

Our simple but transformative tools help individuals and teams move from states of shock and survival to ones of grounding and connection.  Disaster recovery is a marathon, not a sprint. Healing communities, rebuilding infrastructure, and restoring hope and trust take sustained effort over years and generations, not just weeks and months.

Here are some of our favorite testimonials from 2025:

Reconnect for Resilience:

• “The trainers created a space where it felt comfortable to share, to feel, to check in with myself and how I’m feeling w/o the pressure i put on myself to put that stuff away.” (Reconnect)
• “All of this helped me better understand how to support and strengthen myself, my family, and provide tools for my clients. The Restore tool felt particularly evocative as a means to deeply see and support people. Thank you for that and all of this.”
• “I feel these classes need to be taken by more people out in the community!”

Champions

• “This was so helpful and I will definitely be utilizing these tools in both my personal and professional life.”

Leadership

• “This is the BEST workshop I’ve attended! Absolutely loved everything about it. “
• “I left feeling seen, heard, and taken care of. I felt happy and energized from engaging and practicing the tools rather than many workshops and trainings have you feeling dumped on, drained, and depleted. “
• “Thank you for providing words and tools to help with leadership.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Now over a year later, we honor both the grief and the gratitude that have emerged since Helene, and we remain committed to continuing to walk alongside WNC communities through 2026 and beyond. 

Beginning in January, we are able to offer AHEC-approved Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for select programming. Please stay tuned for more info on this exciting development!

As we look toward the new year, we do so with hope and determination. There is still much to be done and we are eager to continue this important work with YOU by our side.

True recovery requires patience, endurance, and long-term commitment. Progress may feel slow, but steady steps forward ensure our lasting renewal and resilience.

 

HELP US FINISH STRONG IN 2025!

Whether you are a first-time donor or a long-time supporter, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to us this holiday season. Your generous gift will ensure that we can continue our mission for years to come, helping people thrive through adversity and trauma. 

With your support, Resources for Resilience can continue:

• making accessible, affordable resiliency education possible in the months and years to come
• reaching community members still impacted by the trauma of Hurricane Helene
• offering practical tools to help regulate stressed and overwhelmed nervous systems
• hosting community-care events that foster connection and learning 
• onboarding new staff, volunteers and consultants who bring their expertise and experience to our team
• sustaining spaces and programming where hope and healing can flourish
• improving health outcomes in communities near and far.

Every contribution—large or small—fuels our mission to build safer, healthier, more resilient communities in Western North Carolina, and beyond. Not able to give financially at this time? Check out these other impactful ways to give back.

THANK YOU for standing with us and helping carry this work forward. We couldn’t do this without you!