URGENT: Helene Survivors Need Help with Shelter 

Everyone knows FEMA has failed our fellow Americans who are our friends, neighbors, and families.  The cold weather is setting in and it's claiming lives.  Since most of us can't be on-the-ground to help Helene victims, we can pitch in by providing heated, 4-season, durable shelter that will get folks through the tough months ahead.  

The Goal of #OperationShelter 

To fund, purchase, deliver and distribute pitch-ready shelter packages to #Helene victims in #NC.  

An #OperationShelter Package is a Complete Shelter Solution

Based on our experience, expertise, and #Helene victims' needs, these shelter packages have been specially designed to solve immediate shelter needs, while also considering a range of other challenges including durability. The kits include: 

1 Kodiak or Springbar Canvas 4-season, Lodge Tent with a stove jack. 

1 Wood burning tent stove & accessories (specifically designed for these tents for safety & efficiency)

1 ground tarp

I have personally spent weeks living in both of these brands of tents and can vouch for their quality, durability and efficiency.  These 4-season tents can handle extreme weather plus rain/moist conditions.  What's so great about these tents is they create rooms where adults can stand up comfortably, so every-day life is much more comfortable and organized.  The kits can be moved easily, from warehouse, to staging site in NC, from staging to people in affected areas, and from place-to-place on the ground.  

Cost of Shelter Package(s)

Large Shelter Package: $2000 - $3300 (depending on brand, Kodiak $, Springbar $$, both packages are equipped with the same gear)

The large shelter package will provide heated shelter for a family up to (I'd say comfortably) 6 adult sized people - & obvs different combos of adults and kids.  *The stoves can also be used for cooking :)

Small Shelter Package: $ 1500 - $2200  (depending on brand, Kodiak $, Springbar $$, both packages are equipped with the same gear)

The small shelter package will provide heated shelter for a family up to (I'd say comfortably) 4 adult sized people - & obvs different combos of adults and kids. *The stoves can also be used for cooking :)

HOW #OperationShelter WORKS:

Funding:  Donations made to this GSG go toward purchasing an entire shelter kit, either small or large, depending on need* Only entire kits will be purchased.  Once a kit is funded, it will purchased and sent to ground-team in NC.

On-the-ground-team: Led by Shawn Hendrix @theshawnhendrix

Shawn is an expert survivalist who is on the ground in NC.  He will be assessing the shelter needs, receiving the shelter kits at his staging area at an open NC airport, then distributing the tents.  I will set up some sort of X feed so everyone can track our progress @cholly & @theshawnhendrix.  Yes, this is a little run-and-gun, but as we go, we'll refine our process to make it more efficient.  

My Role (@Cholly): 

My name is Holly Kasun.  I'm from Colorado and have a lot of extreme camping experience.  I've personally used all of this equipment and can vouch for the quality, safety, and reliability of the shelter kits I've put together.  My background is tech startups, and I'm good at building logistic systems from scratch, and executing these types of missions.  I'll be handling the purchasing, delivering, and tracking of the shelter kits.  Basically the front-end logistics. My goal is to be as transparent as possible so donors can trust both Shawn and me to execute these shelter missions.  We'll be going step-by-step to keep it manageable and efficient.  You can vet me on Twitter @cholly.  DMs are open. 

Known Challenges

1. Product Availability: Inventory of the shelter kit components on the manufacturers' websites appears to be limited.  I'm waiting for my calls to be returned from the manufacturers.  With this said, there are other outlets where I can purchase the items listed above e.g. camping/hunting outlets. I will keep everyone posted about availability issues. 

2. Delivery: Until I know this system works, I will only start with one shelter kit.  Once we execute on one, we can do more. 

3. Cost:  #OperationShelter packages seem expensive.  I see the cost as being completely reasonable given these packages can provide immediate life-saving 4 season shelter to an entire family for months to a year or more.  The speed and efficiency to get these shelters to victims is unparalleled.  If you're not into donating to these packages, I'll post other options for helping on this GSG.   

4. Admin:  Shawn and I aren't taking any money from this for ourselves, for admin etc.  All donations go to the shelters.  

Lessgo!  #OperationShelter chip in, and share on social media platforms.  We can do this!