How to support the mountain communities affected by Hurricane Helene

I'm keeping an eye on how to best support East Tennessee and Western North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene (Hint: donate directly to local recovery efforts.)

For eight years in my early 20s, I lived in the mountain region that Hurricane Helene swallowed up on Sept. 27.

If you’re like me, watching the devastation from Hurricane Helene unfold across the touristy mountain towns of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina has been gut-wrenching. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park draws over 13 million visit…