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Ways To Help Local Veteran, Farmer Cory Bryk and Family After Homes Burns Down

Bryk and family
Bryk and family

By Jesse Wood

Veteran and local farmer Cory Bryk of New Life Farm and his family were at church on Feb. 22 when their home burned down. Just about everything was lost, and now the community is rallying around the family. But they still could use quite a bit more help.

On Sunday, March 8, The New Public House & Hotel in Blowing Rock is hosting a fundraising dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. to help the family rebuild. The menu will feature many ingredients purchased from the New Life Farm.

One image of the destruction that the fire caused.
One image of the destruction that the fire caused.

In addition, a friend set up a GoFundMe.com page to raise money for the family. So far $17,397 has been raised by 249 people in 19 days. The goal is $100,000. Note that eight percent of the funds raised go to the GoFundMe.com, so Highland Christian Fellowship is collecting money in an account that was set up specifically for the family.

(Unfortunately, this isn’t the only recent fundraiser for the family. Last year, Bryk’s daughter Cora was diagnosed with Leukemia. You can read more about that here.)

Quiet Givers, a local nonprofit that coordinates anonymous donations to those in need, has also stepped in to facilitate in helping the Bryk family. People have already donated a number of items and the family is seeking these items in particular:

  • Size 8 shoes, sandals and winter boots for Mom
  • Size 11.5 shoes, boots and sandals for Dad
  • Sledding pants for the 2 year old
  • King size or Queen Size mattress  and Box Spring and headboard
  • 2 twin mattresses (new please)
  • dresser
  • crib
  • toddler size beds/mattress
  • 1 sound machine (Marpac DOHM-DS, Natural White Noise) – gently used would be great as well.
  • Gift Cards (to Earthfare, Costco, Amazon etc.)
  • Amazon gift cards so they can purchase homeschooling supplies
  • Funding through the funding pages.

While Bryk didn’t respond to a phone call on Thursday morning, he has posted on Facebook in the past week about the outpouring of support from folks wanting to help:

“I cannot say enough good things about the people who have offered to help us during this trying season in our life. If you have the time next Sunday to go out to The New Public House & Hotel, we would love to see you there. Chef John Dean is a high caliber chef and all around great guy, and my family and I are grateful for his support. People throw the word ‘community’ around loosely, but I have to say we are BLESSED here in the High Country to have genuine community that comes together to celebrate the good and overcome the bad.”

To learn more about Bryk and his family, click to this magazine feature in Appalachian Magazine, the official magazine of Appalachian State University.

Here is an excerpt:

By Kate Durham

Appalachian State University alumnus Cory Bryk ’12 fought insurgents in Iraq, but right now his biggest fight is with the rain.

“You’re always fighting something and the stress level is high, especially this year,” he said, referencing this particular summer, one of the wettest on record for Boone. The water table is so high that water seeps up out of the ground in places where it normally wouldn’t—or shouldn’t. It’s 85 degrees, muggy and muddy, but a break in the clouds finally gives way to the sun.

Six years ago, Bryk traded in his camouflage military uniform for a white T-shirt, jeans, suspenders and straw hat; his combat boots for knee-high rubber waders; and his M-16 rifle for a collection of garden tools.

For more information and ways to help, click on the embedded links above.