Project Not Forgotten

After Hurricane Helene devastated communities across Western North Carolina, the physical damage was obvious - flooded homes, damaged roads, entire towns working to rebuild. But there was another kind of loss that was quieter and harder to measure: the feeling of being forgotten once the headlines faded.

That’s where Project Not Forgotten began.

Photos from Project Not Forgotten: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZqHpeTh8Xz4WvXaB8

Individuals, classrooms, and schools from across the region took time to sit down and write cards - simple messages of encouragement, hope, and care. Some were written in careful handwriting by young students. Others came from adults who wanted to remind someone they’d never met that they mattered.

Each card carried the same message in its own way: you are not alone.

Our team with Operation Providing Hope had the honor of delivering these cards to people in Western North Carolina who were impacted by Hurricane Helene. As we handed them out, it was clear these weren’t just pieces of paper. They were reminders that someone, somewhere, had paused their day to think about them.

People read them slowly. Some smiled. Some got quiet. A few wiped away tears. One person held onto their card a little longer than expected and said, “I didn’t realize how much I needed this.”

Even months into recovery - when days are still filled with insurance calls, cleanup, uncertainty, and exhaustion - something as small as a handwritten note can feel incredibly big. It says, you’re seen. It says, you haven’t been forgotten.

Project Not Forgotten wasn’t about fixing what the storm broke. It was about reaching people where they were - emotionally, mentally, and human to human. And in that way, it mattered just as much as any physical resource we delivered.

To every student, teacher, individual, and school that took the time to write a card: Thank You. Your words traveled farther than you know, and they landed exactly where they were needed.

Sometimes hope doesn’t arrive in a truck or a box.Sometimes it arrives in an envelope.