Grassroots effort aims to revive historic school as relief hub, community center in Helene-battered Appalachia

BURNSVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — A new plan has emerged for a tiny, abandoned school that became a relief hub after Hurricane Helene ravaged western North Carolina.

In an off-the-beaten-path community, nestled in the mountains of Yancey County just outside of Burnsville, sits the old Bee Log Elementary School.

It’s an unassuming spot that caught viral attention through YouTuber Peter Santenello. He chronicled a road trip he took eight months after the hurricane through the small towns and hollers of Appalachia in a vlog-style video called “Nobody Talks About These Towns,” which has garnered 1.5 million views.

Nearly a year after Helene, the people who transformed the old school into a source for critical disaster relief are working hard to raise money in a tight time window. The goal is for the same organizers who have temporarily transformed the space to purchase the school and keep it a vital resource to be named the Bee Log Community & Relief Center.

While raising the $700,000 that is needed to purchase the school building by November will be a challenge—Shari Tipton Sacchi, a spokesperson for the group, is optimistic.

“There are 11 million residents in NC, if 6.5% of them can hear this story and donate a dollar each, that would get us $700,000,” Sacchi told CBS 17.

Roosevelt-era beginnings

The stone structure built in 1936 has a rich history. It maintained its status as the smallest school in North Carolina, operating 82 years before its closure in 2018 with 42 students in grades K-5.

It came about as part of the Roosevelt administration’s WPA projects, and was initially used as a high school. After decades of serving students, the school was shuttered because a newer school was built.

Developer comes into picture before Hurricane Helene

So, what happened after its closure and before it was turned into a relief hub? Sacchi helped bridge the gap, telling CBS 17 that a developer purchased the property around 2021-2022 and had the intent to turn it into an event space with 12 guest rooms and a two-room manager’s suite.

The demolition began to make these changes, leaving the building without electricity, heat, bathrooms and running water.

Then came Helene in 2024.

The Cane River area was one of the hardest hit, with waters washing out homes and bridges along the major roadway in the area, U.S. Route 19W. The road was also washed out, making some sections completely impassale.

“This area lost the only market and fire department they had within 20 miles and the school was not available as a shelter, as it would have been if the county had kept it,” Sacchi said.

A central force in the relief center efforts, Chrissy Adkins, took action, calling the school’s owner and got permission to run a disaster relief donation hub out of the school. This year, the opportunity came about for the grassroots relief organization to make an attempt to buy it from the seller.

What’s the vision ahead?

“Imagine restoring the heart of a community. Reestablishing a center that engages, inspires and exudes home.” That’s a summary of the goals ahead for Bee Log Community & Relief Center.

The main priority for the group is to continue to provide relief and support to area townships and surrounding areas for as long as possible, while neighbors recover from the economic and infrastructural devastation that still persists.

“While we work hard in this support capacity,” organizers said, “we need help to purchase, preserve and refurbish the former stone school which we operate from and the community treasures.”

Among the necessary fixes are to heat the building, repair the septic system and roof, and make interior upgrades to the flooring.

With the clock ticking and plenty more ground to make up in the fundraising effort, the group has created a 501c3, has been awarded a $20,000 grant and has developed a network of partners.

What happens if the money isn’t raised?

If the group loses the chance to buy the school, Sacchi said the group will look for a piece of property to use as a center and if that fails as well, they are committed to donating what gets raised to other already established 501c3 organizations in the area doing similar work.

How to help

Monetary donations are key to bringing their vision to life — and they can be made in a couple of ways.

A direct donation can be made to the main fundraiser page here. Otherwise, there’s also the option to buy raffle tickets in a vacation raffle here. Tickets are $50 each and two vacations will be up for wins. The first is a condo at Kure Beach for 3-night stay and the second is a 3-night stay at The NuWray Hotel in Burnsville.

To get in touch with Bee Log Community & Relief Center, you can email beelogcrc@gmail.com.