The Hicks family needs our help.

Please note contributions are not tax deductible.

Connie Regan-Blake visiting with Rosa Hicks. The door to the addition will be where you see the window in the background.

Wood stacked for a cold winter at the Hicks homeplace in the mountains of North Carolina.

Dear Friends,

Ray Hicks lived his whole life on Beech Mountain in North Carolina, and yet he touched the lives of people around the world with his storytelling and innate wisdom and knowledge of the old ways.

His widow, Rosa and son Ted still live at the homeplace, a weather-worn cabin built on land that has been in the Hicks family since the 1700's. Recently their health has dramatically deteriorated. Ted suffers from diabetes and kidney disease and must travel over an hour for dialysis three times a week. Rosa has been diagnosed with leukemia and has heart problems. They cannot endure another winter with only wood heat, carrying water from the spring and using an outhouse. And yet they love their home and could not imagine living anywhere else.

Rosa said, "One time in my life I'd like to wake up to a warm house." Construction is underway to build an additional room for them that will have good insulation as well as indoor plumbing and oil heat. We hope to complete the room before winter sets in.

If you would like to help, you can make an online donation or send a check payable to: The Ray and Rosa Hicks Fund, c/o International Storytelling Center, 116 West Main St, Jonesborough, TN 37659. Please note contributions are not tax deductible.

Your kindness, generosity and continued loving thoughts are greatly appreciated. Rosa has said, "I can feel every prayer."