News

Hughes hired to lead Disaster Recovery Partnership

John Hughes

By Lightning Reports, Published: July 29, 2025

The United Way of Henderson County recently hired a leader for the agency’s new Disaster Recovery Partnership and announced funding for disaster case managers at five local non-profit agencies.

In addition to naming John Hughes as senior director of the new partnership, the UWHC also posted three additional positions to support the disaster relief work, the United Way said. 

Recognizing that navigating aid resources is a complicated and often challenging experience for disaster survivors, UWHC committed to providing training and support to fund resource navigation experts to serve as Disaster Case Managers. The United Way recently announced $323,082 in funding to support DCM positions at five local nonprofit agencies.

The mission of the Disaster Recovery Partnership is to unite and empower Henderson County communities in the face of disasters by promoting effective information sharing, simplifying access to critical resources for individuals and families and collaboratively addressing unmet needs. 

“We recognize that navigating resources can be difficult and that it often takes several nonprofit partners working together to support a family,” Hughes said. ”We are committed to simplifying access to critical resources for our Henderson County neighbors to help them through the challenging process of disaster recovery.”

UWHC was the driving force behind the creation of the partnership, which connects more than 50 agencies working collaboratively to address the Helene recovery needs that the local community continues to face. UWHC’s record of strong partnerships, community engagement, accountability and trust resulted in a request from the Disaster Recovery Partnership Advisory Committee for UWHC to serve as the fiscal sponsor for this collaborative community work.

The disaster partnership’s work is in addition to a local community impact portfolio that includes community investment grants to 25 local nonprofits, funding for 13 local food pantries, 30 Helene relief and recovery grants, support for Henderson County Rescue Squad and seven internal programs and initiatives.

For more information or to make a donation, contact the United Way at P.O. Box 487, Hendersonville, N.C., 28793, call 828-692-1636 or visit liveunitedhc.org. UWHC is also on Facebook.