“We don’t have a workforce without child care.”

In the days following Hurricane Helene in September 2024, the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce, like many other organizations across Western North Carolina, began the recovery process.

And one of their first actions was to think about the children – covering tuition payments for local licensed child care centers.

But before that, before the storm, the Chamber had studied and understood the importance of early childhood in the community.

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Building the Foundation

“We saw the work done in Wilkes County to quantify their childcare stats, and we were encouraged to see some of the partners that worked on that project were Appalachian State professors who were based here in Watauga County. We knew stories about what was happening with child care in our region, but we needed more specific information.”

David Jackson, Boone Chamber of Commerce President & CEO

For years, the Boone Chamber worked to build relationships between the Chamber and local government and economic development groups.

“Sometime in 2017, we met with the Children’s Council of Watauga County and were brought in as representatives of the local business community,” said Jackson.

The Boone Chamber saw the benefits of a well-trained workforce and how high quality child care in the area can nurture the next generation of workers in the community.

“We eventually took over the Early Childhood Development and Education Fund, which serves as the funding pipeline for private sector investment in early childhood initiatives.”

In 2023, the Watauga County Board of Commissioners authorized a study on early childhood education and child care in the region.

“We needed to bring more concrete data to the conversations we were having with local government, state leaders, and potential investors,” said Jackson. “The study gave us context around our child care challenges, the county’s workforce patterns, and what can happen if we don’t pay attention to the intersection of these issues.”

The commissioned study found that more than 11,000 workers commute to Watauga County each day and that the county had a gap of 380 licensed slots for children age 0-3.

Additionally, the study noted a significant need for after school care, particularly in more rural areas. “These were all issues that we had anecdotal evidence of, but having real numbers to back up these conversations helped us build great partnerships with our local government, child care providers, community-based organizations, and business community,” said Jackson.

When Hurricane Helene barreled through Western North Carolina, it was this study—and the partnerships the Chamber built over the years—that provided the foundation for the Chamber’s recovery efforts.

Taking Action

In just 10 days following the storm, the Boone Area Chamber Foundation raised more than $200,000 for recovery efforts.

“Donors from all across the country—some with connections to the High Country, many with none—donated to the Boone Area Chamber Foundation. We already knew from the study what was at stake for our children, families, and local businesses, and we knew how much it would be to cover tuition for one month for families in licensed centers.”

Ethan Dodson, Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Director of Development

When the Foundation’s board met to discuss the idea of using the donated funds to cover child care costs, the decision was unanimous. Dodson says that the board understood the ripple effects of what would happen if they didn’t act, and what could happen if they did.

“About 85% of our businesses up here are 15 employees or under,” said Dodson. “We don’t have a workforce without child care.”

In total, the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce distributed $206,000 to licensed child care centers less than two weeks after the storm.

For one child care center owner, who provides care for around 100 children in the area, the tuition payment helped her stay open. “And for so many families, that $800 to $1,000 that they didn’t have to spend on child care that month was used to help themselves, their neighbors, and other community members in need recover from a devastating storm,” said Dodson.

The Chamber feels good about the impact they made after the storm, but Dodson says that it speaks to how the slightest disruption in the child care industry can have catastrophic impacts on providers, children, families, and local businesses and employers. “We haven’t shied away from planting a flag on this issue because we know what it will cost us.”

What’s Next

In the time since Hurricane Helene, the Boone Chamber has remained a champion of the child care industry and has found additional ways to support providers.

“We care about the success of our kids, and there’s massive amounts of data on how the first three years of a child’s life are so crucial for their brain development,” said Dodson. “Investing in them in those early years means we’re securing their future and our community’s future.”

The Boone Chamber launched an initiative in August 2025 to pay for one month of child care for child care workers.

“We know that child care providers are already offering reduced or free tuition to the children of their workers because it helps retain their highly trained staff,” said Jackson. “But that’s revenue they’re missing out on that makes a difference for their bottom line. This was something we could do to further support our child care providers.”

Jackson says that these investments in child care are especially important as the High Country continues to economically recover from Hurricane Helene. The storm hit days before peak tourism season, and making up for lost revenue during that time has been slow.

“Losing our peak month cannot be made up, and that’s a reality that we continue to grapple with. Our winter success depends on the weather, but our typically busy summer season was slow to return in 2025,” said Jackson.

“But in the midst of that, we’ve been buoyant and resilient. We had a successful fall, which helps, but none of this would have even been possible without the support we have given and will continue to extend to our child care businesses.”

Dodson says that while the Chamber feels great about the impact they can make, they know that the issues within the child care industry are bigger than what’s happening in the High Country and that greater action is needed across the state.

“If you live, work, raise a family, or own a business in North Carolina, you’re ahead of the curve in so many ways. We’ve been the number one state for business three out of the last four years, and that is a good thing for our families and communities. But this will not continue to be the case if our child care sector limps along.”

Ethan Dodson, Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Director of Development

Jackson says that acting and raising awareness on this issue is crucial, not just for the High Country, but for every community in North Carolina. “It doesn’t matter where you are,” he said. “We don’t have a workforce without child care.”