Panther Creek – The only reason Judy Carpenter is going public with her fundraising efforts is that her work the initial go-around was actually too successful.
Inspired in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene to distribute Starlink internet routers to those in essential services across western North Carolina, Carpenter is now attempting to double down on the expansion of connectivity by furnishing a mobile Starlink router for many of the same entities that have received a much-needed upgrade over the last few months.
A member of the GREAT (Graham Revitalization Economic Action Team) organization since 2007 – thanks to her role spearheading the Proctor Revival Project, which works to shed light on the legacy of the lives affected by the construction of Fontana Dam – Carpenter is not known to sit idly by when there is work to be done.
“We have always had a problem with connectivity and are always working on it,” Carpenter said. “So, I put something on Facebook and asked if anyone wanted to donate – because I wanted to put this together.”
It did not take long: the cost of the initiative was soon covered. The first Starlink routers $299; by the end of the initial distribution, the price had increased slightly, to $349 each.
The goal was to reach each county west of Asheville; all told, 20 units were dispersed. EMS and fire/rescue stations in Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Haywood, Macon and Swain counties all received Starlink routers. In addition, locations in Sylva that provided food for Hurricane Helene first responders; the Clay County Senior Center; MANNA Food Bank/GREAT and Ingles; plus the Graham County Department of Public Health and Graham County Schools each requested and received units.
The goal is to raise $6,000 to disperse eight mobile Starlink units, as a router and accessories are valued at $750 each.
Donations can be mailed to the non-profit GREAT organization, at P.O. Box 1223, Robbinsville, NC 28771. Please specify that the donation is for the “Starlink fund.”
Launched in May 2019, Starlink provides broadband internet through a series of satellites. Owned by SpaceX, the provider announced that it had surpassed four million paying subscribers in September 2024.