OUR MOUNTAIN WORK OUR MOUNTAIN WORK
The Quarterly Newsletter of Black Mountain Home for Children
TOGETHER THROUGH LIFE’S STORMS
With tremendous gratitude, we share that none of our youth or staff were injured in the devastation brought on by the storm. Engineers estimate that it will take over eight months and more than $1 million to clear the debris. Yet, with friends like you standing beside us, we have faith that every space will be restored and every dream renewed. See inside for more information.
HURRICANE HELENE
September 27, 2024
On the morning of September 27th, our Shepherd of the Hills Retreat Center faced a disaster unlike any we’ve seen before. Torrential rain from Hurricane Helene triggered a massive landslide, sweeping down the ridge behind our dining hall. The “mountain slide” unleashed a wave of timber, boulders, and thick sludge, cutting a path through the heart of our retreat center. In moments, four buildings were obliterated and six others severely damaged, including a staff member’s home and our dining hall—where youth in our culinary arts apprenticeship program learned skills for their future.
Thank You for Supporting Us Through Every Trial
In Genesis 50:20, Joseph tells his brothers that what they meant for harm, God used for good to save the lives of many, including theirs. This verse has meant a lot to me as we’ve experienced incredible blessings during the trials and hardships caused by Hurricane Helene.
It’s hard to put the last few weeks into words. The challenges staff faced as they cared for children at the Home while supporting their families were overwhelming. Yet even in the hardest moments, God was at work. His provision comforted our hearts and souls. Through the steadfast love, prayers, and support of people like you, our needs were met, and we knew we were not facing the storm alone.
Hurricane Helene carved a path of destruction through our campus. Buildings that brought joy to children for almost a century, first as the Swannanoa 4H Camp and more recently, as part of our apprenticeship program and retreat center, were destroyed. Majestic trees that provided beauty and shade were uprooted. For weeks, we managed without electricity, running water, internet, or cell phone service. Yet, God used people like you to meet our needs, and we thank Him that not a single child or staff member was physically harmed.
In the days after Helene, we learned that many of our children feared being uprooted from Black Mountain Home, a trauma that echoed the scars of their past. We assured them that they are part of our family, that this is their home, and we would protect and care for them. And we are happy to report than none of our children have been displaced because of the storm.
As we look to the future, please know that your support is needed more than ever. During this season of giving, we humbly ask for your generous support so that we can continue offering security, love, and hope to the children and youth entrusted to our care. Thank you for showing children they are loved, matter, and have a family who will stand by them through life’s storms.
With deep appreciation and hope,
Jimmy Harmon
donors pledge $500,000 matching gift to help BMH stay strong through the storm
Unfortunately, Helene is not the worst storm our children have faced.
You can help us benefit from this generous $500,000 matching gift pledge by scanning the QR Code to give online or returning your gift in the enclosed envelope.
Whether you’ve been part of our Black Mountain Home family for years or are a new friend, we invite you to join us in caring for the 170 children who are relying on us this year—children who have endured neglect, abuse, abandonment, and other unimaginable hardships. Seeing the fear they experienced during Hurricane Helene strengthened our resolve to protect, nurture, and love children who have not had the chance to feel wanted, protected, and cherished. Your support will help ensure what matters most: being a loving, Christian home for children in need.
Your gift means more than a warm bed and a full tummy—it means healing and hope. It is the gift of childhood, of family, and of having a place to belong. During this holiday season, your kindness offers a lasting message of hope, showing them they are never alone, no matter the storms they face.
To help continue caring for children through this storm, generous donors who understand our urgent needs have pledged to double your gift up to $500,000. Thank you for helping provide our children with the security and love of family. This is their home, and with your help, we can continue strong.
Your support makes a difference that words cannot fully capture. We are eternally grateful.
A Safe Haven Amidst the Storm
Although there were no physical injuries, our children were frightened by the storm, flooding, and trees falling on their homes. But thanks to supporters like you, they never felt alone. Your generosity provided the resources that allowed us to care for them during those dark nights, reminding each child that they are loved, safe, and part of a family that will always stand by them.
While downed trees damaged gutters and exteriors, no roofs were punctured, and our kids could safely stay in their homes.
One wing of the dining hall was swept away and the remaining portion was moved from its foundation. Once filled with laughter and connection, we look forward to the restoring it to a place of community and joy.
In addition to the mountain slide, rain from Helene flooded our auto shop, where youth in our apprenticeship program learn vehicle maintenance skills. Our softball field and playground, the center of many campus activities, need repair. We also had water damage in our gym and administrative office.
Yet, through it all, we’ve felt God’s presence and the comfort of friends like you. Your prayers and support have reminded us that we’re not alone. The effects of this storm will be with us for years, but knowing that we can lean on people like you for strength and support means the world to us. Thank you for being there in our hour of need and bringing hope to our children and ministry when we need it most.
Your gift transforms lives
Your support helps the fastest-growing segment of children in our care: newborns like Mia, who was exposed to opioids before birth and arrived from the hospital needing constant attention and love. Thanks to you, these fragile little ones are receiving the tender care they desperately need for a safe start in life.
The simplest way to support our work is with a cash donation. You can make a onetime gift or set up a recurring donation which will provide steady support we can count on, allowing us to plan ahead and meet the daily needs of our children. Your commitment, big or small, helps ensure that each child has the stability and care they deserve.
Because of you, children like Ethan, who has suffered from hunger and neglect, have a safe, caring home where they can thrive. Your gift provides more than just shelter and food - it provides educational support, caring relationships, counseling, and more. Thanks to you, Ethan and others like him have hope for a brighter future.
make the Gift that’s right for you matching gifts
Teens like Jasmine have few options when they age out of foster care. Nationally, 20% become homeless immediately, 50% struggle with addiction, and ~70% are arrested within two years. Because of you, Jasmine has a safe place to live, life skills coaching, and job training. Your support is helping her build a stable, hopeful future.
Donating appreciated stocks or securities is an impactful way to give, with tax benefits for you. By gifting stocks that have gained value, you can avoid capital gains taxes and receive a charitable deduction for the market value. To get started, contact your financial advisor or brokerage firm to initiate a stock transfer directly to our ministry. Scan QRC for details on donating stocks.
Many companies match the charitable contributions made by their employees. This can effectively double (or even triple) the impact of your gift to us at no extra cost to you.
If you are 73 or older and have an individual retirement account, you can donate all or part of your required minimum distribution (RMD) to a charity instead of taking it as income and paying taxes on it. This allows you to reduce your taxable income while supporting a cause you care about. Talk to your IRA manager or financial advisor about making a Qualified Charitable Distribution directly to Black Mountain Home.
in-kind gifts
In addition to financial contributions, we also accept gifts of goods and services. If you own a business or have access to valuable resources, you may wish to donate items that can directly support our programs or be used in fundraising events.
Cash Gifts
Gifts of Stock
Gifts from Your IRA
Ethan Jasmine
YOUR LASTING GIFT OF LOVE: THEIR FUTURE - YOUR LEGACY
In the face of dwindling government support, our ministry is working to ensure children will have a loving home for generations to come. During the first phase of the Second Century of Hope Campaign, we built our Mountain Home Thrift Store: Cheryl’s Place and Thirteen Pennies Cafe, creating new revenue streams for our ministry. Now, the vision continues as we seek to establish an endowment of sustained support.
Creating a perpetual endowment will ensure the following:
• Our programs and services continue to adapt to the changing needs of children, ensuring they have the care they deserve.
• Our facilities can be maintained with excellence.
• Our ministry is supported and sustained for generations to come.
Why Legacy Giving Matters
Legacy giving is one of the simplest, most powerful ways to help secure the future of Black Mountain Home. It provides crucial support for our ministry and can have significant tax benefits for you and your family. Legacy gifts can be made in many ways, including:
• Designating BMH as a beneficiary in your will or trust.
• Naming BMH as a beneficiary on life insurance policies or retirement accounts.
• Charitable gift annuities or charitable remainder trusts that provide income during your lifetime.
• Gifts of real estate or other valuable assets.
The Urgency of Our Mission
With government funding decreasing and challenges growing for Christian ministries, we prayerfully invite you to help ensure our future ability to serve children who have experienced neglect, abuse, abandonment, and other traumas. By working together to create an endowment, we can ensure that children can receive the love, support, and hope they so desperately need at Black Mountain Home.
Join this Transformative Mission.
Whether through an outright gift or a future planned gift, your generosity will impact children’s lives for decades—and even centuries—to come. Please call Loretta Shelton, Vice President of Development and Community Relations, at (828) 686-3451, ext. 107, to discuss ways to include Black Mountain Home in your estate plans.
Options to Consider
Consider leaving a lasting impact on Black Mountain Home through your estate planning. You can name us as a beneficiary in your will, life insurance policy, or retirement account. Planned gifts like these provide significant tax advantages for your estate and ensure your support for our mission endures beyond your lifetime.
CAMPUS CLEAN UP
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, we are sharing the list of equipment needs below to help us maintain and care for our ~ 200-acre campus. With your support, we can ensure Black Mountain Home for Children is a warm and welcoming space for children now and for generations to come. Here’s a look at what we need and the estimated cost. Please call Loretta Shelton at (828) 686-3451 if you would like to donate this equipment or a gift to cover its purchase.
SV40 Excavator ($65,000): This excavator will allow us to remove large debris and do heavier lifting around campus.
1-Ton Dump Truck ($70,000): A dump truck is needed for transporting gravel, soil, and debris, which is especially important during our ongoing recovery efforts.
Pickup Truck ($40,000): This truck will help us transport materials, tools, and equipment across our expansive grounds.
Tractor with Attachments ($75,000): This tractor is needed for clearing fields, grading, and path maintenance. Its versatility is crucial for keeping our campus safe and accessible, ensuring we can address day-to-day needs efficiently.
Compact Loader and Attachments ($50,000): This compact loader is perfect for transporting materials, digging trenches, and clearing brush.
Commercial Zero-Turn Mower ($20,000): Maintaining our extensive grounds requires multiple mowers. Keeping our lawns and fields well-manicured is crucial to providing children with a safe and pleasant environment, is essential for outdoor activities, and the aesthetics of our campus.
GROWING UP TOGETHER, A SISTER’S
Before coming to Black Mountain Home, Jessee and his four siblings stayed in a cramped two-bedroom mobile home with a family friend. The five children slept on the living room floor, and there was often little food to eat. Although coming somewhere new was scary, the older siblings soon realized that the adults at Black Mountain Home could be trusted to care for all of them. Jessee’s sister, “A”, found having her own bedroom an enormous blessing while still being able to grow up alongside her brothers and sisters.
The older siblings were relieved not to constantly be on guard, watching for dangers and negative influences that often face children without the protection of a parent. When asked about their resilience and compassionate natures, Jessee’s sister spoke of their late father. “Despite his struggles with addiction, he always expected us to do our best,” she said. “He encouraged us to stand up for others, especially kids who were getting picked on.” Now, with the guidance and support of Black Mountain Home, she and Jessee are growing into wonderful young adults. “Before coming here, we saw many people we didn’t want to be like but didn’t know what we could or should be. At Black Mountain Home, we’ve learned good things and have role models with the qualities we want to have.”
In August, Jessee began his college career at UNC Asheville. Still in high school, his sister is considering two career paths—nursing or law—both of which she sees as ways to help people during hard times. She credits the siblings’ success and strength to staying together. “I couldn’t make it without my brothers and sisters,” she shared. “I couldn’t have handled being separated from them. They are my whole world.”
MINISTRY
NEEDS Your support provides a nurturing environment where every child feels at
• Building Supplies: Gift cards or donations of lumber, hardware, drywall, and materials to help with repairs.
• Gift Cards: Cards for chain restaurants, department stores, or grocery stores are helpful.
• Vehicles: Reliable used cars to replace those damaged by the flooding.
• Outdoor Christmas Decorations: Lights, inflatables, wreaths, etc. for our youth cottages.
• Mountain Home Thrift Store: Cheryl’s Place donations.
Here are some ways you can help: https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/2AGJXBO57B3XZ
TRIBUTE GIFTS
Received June 1 to August 31, 2024
Our deepest appreciation to the people who recognized special events, honored the memory of loved ones, and expressed love and friendship by supporting our children.
In Memory of
Linda Addison
Judith Shannon
Fred Alexander
Leslie & Nancy Fuller
Mansfield Group
Samuel Ozburn
Thomas Alexander
Laurel & Senter Property Mgmt
Wise Eye Care
Virginia Avery
Thomas Avery
Dale & Ann Ward
Ann Ballard
Fred Ballard
Carol Barlow
Carr’s Hill Baptist Church
Michael Glenn Bass
Ben Goldstein & Stephanie Scarce
Joan Berry
David & Cheryl Berry
Buford Family
Anonymous
Vestal Caldwell
Linda Caldwell
Dee Collins
Stephen Clair
Dorcas Dameron
Wanda Adams
Cecil E. Daniels
Catherine Daniels
Robert Davenport
Virginia Bradford
Clyde & Margie Davis
Joe & Stephanie Frady
Mary “Polly” Elniff
Skip & Pat Midkiff
Thank you to Congressman Chuck Edwards
Paul Felker
Jerilyn Donahoe
Family & Friends
Danie Beck
Johnny Holland
Mary Alice Holland
Charles Holley
Bee & Martha Strain
Robert & Donna Juhl
Randy Juhl
Fred Martin
Sally Martin
Donald Eugene Moore
Shannon Redmon
Robert S. O’Dell
Joe & Celia Howard
Linda Odom
Rick & Debra Bennett
Carole Ormsby
Joy Parker
Carolyn “Cackie” Osteen
Jerry & Leigh Burnette
Stephanie Holman
Grady & Sherry Lunsford
David & Ellen McClintock
Barbara Ann Smith
Chao & Xiang Tse
Joe H. Osteen
James & Adrianne Dodson
David Wilton Parker
Carlton & Sharon Ward
Wilton “Perk” & Josephine S.
Parker
Carlton & Sharon Ward
David L. Parks
Debbie Nowlin
Tony Peterson
Lee & Nancy Galloway
for caring about children in foster care. We are grateful for his support of H.R. 3852 (CARE for Children Act), which aims to restore states’ access to Title IV-E federal funding for foster care and expand funding to keep sibling groups together in cottage family homes. Please contact your congressional representative and ask them to support this crucial legislation. https://www.congress.gov/members/ find-your-member
You can learn more about H.R. 3852 at: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118thcongress/house-bill/3852
Susan Purdy
Virginia Bradford
Paul Harrison Reynolds
Loretta Reynolds
Cynthia Roberts
Mary Johnson
Keith & Debbie Thompson
Ken (Kie) Roberts
Joe & Edie Covert
Burnie & Elaine Duncan
Gary Helton
Joyce Ingle
Ken & Betty McElrath
Hugh & Bonnie Meyer
Donna Prinz
Bob Sharp
Central United Methodist Church
Nina M. Sherman
Susan Gaddis
Cliff Smathers
James & Anne LeVine
Jackie Smith
Jim Smith
Warren G. Sproul
Sandy Stanford
James Stewart
Judith Shannon
Catherine Turbyfill
Virginia Bradford
Barbara Ward
Pattie Sibbett
Lois Wernicke
Carol Crawford
David & Mary Evers
Pamela Kling
Dayle Malina
Edwin & Sharon Rugg
David & Becky Surratt
Dena Ward
Barbara Wernicke
Fred Eugene Wier
Rhonda Wier
Matthew Stephen Wray
Robin & Renee Dyer
ZACHARY DAVID GARCIA
MAY 9, 2003AUGUST 30, 2024
In Honor of
Alpha Delta Kapa Alpha Epsilon
Chapter
Karen Marberger
Laura Bowles
Mary Alice Holland
Virginia Bradford
Keith & Debbie Thompson
Charles Robert Coley
Jeff Coley
Dads at Horse Shoe FBC
Horse Shoe First Baptist Church
James E. Davidson
Jim & Cooper Davidson
Jacquey S. Denison
Mary Alice Holland
Robert Dodge
Mary White
Donna Farrow
Al & Leigh Gambrell
Nevaeh Grace
Nick & Kendall Juhl
John & Lynn Hallimore
Paul & Christine Goulart
Megan Harris
John & Jacquey Riser
Grady & Sally Kennington
Levar & Katie Moore
Emily Love
Keith & Barbra Love
Janie Love
Keith & Barbra Love
Lori Norris-Sutphin
Chuck Norris
Julius & Louise Robinson
Johnny & Mary Robinson
Matt Smith
Brad Simpson
Janet Thomas
Mary Alice Holland
Mary, Nancy, & Elaine Wilson
Gary Pace
It is with heavy hearts that we share the unexpected passing of Zack Garcia, a beloved former resident and forever family member of Black Mountain Home. When he came to us at the age of 13, Zack quickly became known for his tender heart, deep love for the Lord, and unwavering commitment to being strong for his younger siblings. In addition to a fierce love for his family, Zack had a heart for serving others, qualities that made him truly special. After graduating from Owen High School in 2021, Zack enrolled briefly in our Independent Living Program. He had a passion for the outdoors, enjoying activities like hiking, mountain biking, and gathering around bonfires. In a testament to Zack’s impact on our community, twelve of our staff were honored to attend his funeral, along with several other former BMH youth with whom he had kept in touch throughout the years. Zack’s memory will forever remain in our hearts.
TRANSFORMING HARDSHIP INTO HEALING AND HOPE WISH LIST
During this holiday season, your generosity brings comfort, love, and joy to children who have endured hardships that no child should face. As they recover from the recent storm, your kindness ensures they wake up on Christmas morning knowing they are part of a family that cares for them and will never abandon them. Whether your holiday tradition of giving is rooted in faith, family values, or the simple desire to make a difference in a child’s life, your gift transforms the lives of children of all ages, from newborns just beginning their journey to young adults working to create a successful future. Thank you for giving children the gift of love, healing and hope during this special holiday season.
To receive our prayer calendar, email
How You Can Help:
• Your Prayers and Support are the Greatest Gift of All
• We are truly grateful for the people who have “adopted” our children for Christmas this year. If you’d like to help make Christmas special, it’s not too late, please visit www.BlackMountainHome.org/Christmas to see our current Christmas needs.
• As we recover from Helene, your financial support is more important than ever. Please use the enclosed envelope to make your gift or scan the QRC to give online.
Thank you for helping us benefit from the generous $500,000 matching gift pledge by scanning the QRC to give online or returning your gift in the enclosed envelope.