North Carolina is just at the beginning of the long process of rebuilding after the western part of the state was devastated by Hurricane Helene last month. Nearly 100 in the state were killed, with that death toll still expected to rise, and the damage from widespread flooding wiped out entire towns and displaced thousands of people from their homes and businesses.

Many country artists have stepped up to help, with Eric Church and Luke Combs leading the charge in their home state.

Eric released a new single, "Darkest Hour," in the aftermath of the storm, and signed over all the rights to the song to the people of the state of North Carolina. And tonight, Luke and Eric are hosting Concert for Carolina, an all-star show at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte to raise money for those still in need.

But he's not stopping there. During the show, Eric announced that his Chief Cares foundation has launched a new initiative to help those affected by the flooding get back in their homes.

Called "A Blueprint for the Blue Ridge," the plan starts with building 100 new homes for families in western North Carolina displaced by the storm. But Church also wants to support their communities as they rebuild by helping create jobs, rebuild schools and support local businesses that have seen their customers forced to leave the area.

According to Eric:

"Any time a community needs help, it's always the community next door that comes running to help. And there are no communities next door. They've all been devastated. So we've made it our mission at Chief Cares that we're going to be the community next door...

We're going to go and keep those people in their community, put a roof over their head, let 'em interact with their community, let 'em be a part of their community, and let 'em help rebuild the community."

As Eric has pointed out, there's often an influx of cash and help when a disaster strikes, but as the days and weeks go by, the help leaves but the need remains. So he's doing all he can to keep the attention on the area and not only rebuilding homes but everything else that goes into getting these communities back to the vibrant places they were just a month ago:

"It goes way beyond 100 homes. I hope it's a lot of homes. A lot more than 100 homes. I hope it's about building the businesses and building the community back. That's what we're committing to at Chief Cares, and we would love your help."

This is obviously going to be a yearslong recovery for the people in the mountains of North Carolina, as well as folks in South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida who were affected by the storm.

But Chief is doing everything he can to help his home state.

If you want more information about Blueprint for the Blue Ridge, or to make a donation to help the folks in NC, you can visit the Chief Cares website here.