Service-Dog Non-Profit to Serve as Conduit for Cash,
In-Kind Donations to Western North Carolina Farmers
& Other Large-Animal Owners

BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.—Service-dog non-profit Paws & Effect is now leveraging its charitable-giving status to serve as a conduit for tax-deductible funds and supplies to help area farmers and other large-animal owners sustain livestock following the unprecedented destruction caused by Hurricane Helene.

Established in 2006 in Iowa and now based on a hobby farm in Black Mountain, N.C., Paws & Effect is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that raises, trains, and places service and other dogs with military veterans, first-responders, and children diagnosed with medical needs.

While much of Western North Carolina continues to be without reliable communications and other services, the organization is leveraging its physical, administrative, and on-line resources to receive, coordinate, and redirect hurricane-relief donations, in partnership with on-the-ground organizations including:

·       ABCCM Transformation Village, Asheville, N.C.

·       Intrepid Acres, Clyde, N.C.

·       Stable Relationships, Reidsville, N.C.

·       Straightaway Cafe & Pub (currently closed; operating as community relief logistics point), Black Mountain, N.C.

·       Warren Wilson College, Swannanoa, N.C.

“As a long-time resident of Black Mountain, I have worked on many farms in the Broad River Valley including Tempus Renatus and Round Mountain Creamery. With my own small farmstead and experience working for others, I understand the desperate need for immediate support. As winter temperatures greet us each morning, the necessity to get help to area livestock quickly is essential,” says Shumate.

“Farmers’ immediate needs include money to make purchases like barn kits, and feed transported to us in a manner that we can manage—such as two- and three-string bales, or 50-pound bags,” says Shumate. “We need fencing, chargers, and the ability to prevent intrusion of all kinds of wildlife, including displaced black bears.”

Horse-trainer Cristin Kyle at Stable Relationships has posted an expanded list of suggested donations here: https://www.stablerelationships.co/helene-relief 

Tax-deductible donations of money, and deliveries of feed and supplies can be coordinated through Shumate (mobile: 515.822.5285; e-mail: nicoleshumate@paws-effect.org) or Kyle (mobile: 336.686.2005; e-mail: stablehorsemanship@gmail.com).

Charitable donations of funds may be made via:

·       Wells Fargo banks: local branch currently closed, but wire-transfer option available; contact organizers for account information

·       Venmo: @pawseffectorg

·       Zelle: nicoleshumate@paws-effect.org

For more information, visit: www.paws-effect.org/helene-relief