Support World Central Kitchen

It has been two years since Hurricane Helene, and the scars it left on Asheville and Western North Carolina are still very visible. Our community is still recovering and for many people, what happened in September 2024 remains a part of everyday life.

When we think back to those first days, and the fear, and uncertainty, it is the people who helped us stand out. We remember who showed up. We remember the neighbors, volunteers, and organizations who got us through something we could barely make sense of.

World Central Kitchen was one of those organizations. They helped feed our community, including members of the Orbit DVD staff. Their presence meant a great deal to us then, and it still does.

Today, Orbit DVD is in a position to give something back, and we are asking you to join us.

Orbit DVD will match customer donations through our fundraiser dollar for dollar, up to $10,000 from Orbit. If customers contribute $10,000, together we can raise $20,000 for World Central Kitchen.

You can add a donation while shopping with us or round up your order. Whatever you can comfortably give, we appreciate it.

Hurricane Helene in Asheville and The Days After

The days following Helene were unlike anything we had experienced here before. Homes, businesses, roads, and places that held our community together were suddenly washed away and flattened. Familiar surroundings became difficult to recognize. Ordinary lives stopped.

We were trying to understand what had happened while also figuring out what to do next. Without reliable communication, even getting information was difficult. There were people to check on, employees to talk to, and decisions to make without knowing when things might begin to feel normal again.

Thankfully, the Orbit staff were safe. We were fortunate, and we knew it. Our safety existed alongside an enormous amount of loss throughout the region.

One of the things that became clear very quickly was how much we depend on the ordinary parts of a day. Running water. Being able to contact someone. Knowing where you can get food. Those things are easy to take for granted until they disappear. At the end of a frightening, exhausting day, you want to sit down and eat. You want something familiar. You want one part of life to feel manageable. That uncertainty is something I would wish on nobody.

What a Hot Meal Meant to Us

Members of our staff were able to receive meals through World Central Kitchen’s work in the community. Having that food available made a real difference.

These were good meals. Food that someone had taken the time to prepare and cook. Being given a hot meal after a stressful day brought a sense of familiarity. It gave us a chance to stop for a moment and feel some direction of optimism.

When you are dealing with the aftermath of a disaster, there are so many questions competing for your attention. What needs to happen next? Who needs help? What can wait? What can’t? Having food available takes one immediate worry off that list.

There is comfort in knowing someone has thought about what you need. There is comfort in eating something warm and satisfying. For a little while, you can feel more like yourself.

That is what stuck with us about World Central Kitchen. We saw the effect of their work in our community, and we experienced it ourselves.

I remember how people came together. People showed up and did what they could. That part of the experience was incredible, and I do not want to forget it.

This fundraiser comes from that memory: the people who helped, the meals they provided, and how much compassion in the middle of dark times mattered.

How World Central Kitchen Works With Local Communities

As we learned more about World Central Kitchen, another part of their approach stood out: the way they work with local people.

WCK describes a response model that brings together local restaurants, food trucks, caterers, and community organizations. They employ community members and source ingredients locally whenever possible. That means working with people who understand the area and the food their neighbors know and enjoy.

As a small business, we appreciate what that can mean. Restaurants and food workers are part of a community’s lifeblood. They have relationships, knowledge, and skills that become especially valuable when that community is in trouble.

Here in Asheville, WCK established a relief kitchen at Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ and worked with local chefs and restaurants. Some meals prepared by restaurant partners reached isolated families by helicopter. Those efforts connected the ability to cook with the much harder task of getting food to people whose usual routes had been cut off.

Across its Hurricane Helene response, WCK reports more than 1.7 million meals served, more than 2.2 million gallons of water distributed, and 197 days of cooking. 

Food That Brings a Sense of Home

The familiarity of the food matters, too.

WCK’s approach includes serving food that fits the communities receiving it. Local cooks help make that possible. In Ukraine, for example, WCK describes working with restaurants and catering companies to prepare familiar dishes, including borsch, while considering dietary needs and the practical challenges of getting meals to people safely.

That makes sense to me after our experience here. When so much has changed around you, something familiar can carry a lot of meaning. A meal you recognize and enjoy can remind you of home, even when home and daily life have been disrupted.

We sell movies, so we spend a lot of time thinking about the things people turn to for comfort and enjoyment. We love the feeling of putting on a favorite movie, settling in, and letting your worries ease for a little while. After Helene, having a hot meal gave us a moment of comfort we desperately needed. It was something simple to look forward to at the end of a hard day.

That is part of why this work feels so personal to us. We remember what it was like to need that moment, and we remember the people who made it possible.

The Work Continues Beyond Western North Carolina

Our connection to World Central Kitchen began here, but the work we want to support is far beyond our region.

After the devastating floods in Spain in 2024, WCK teams worked in the Valencia region to provide food, drinking water, and other support. Following the Southern California wildfires in January 2025, their response brought together restaurant partners, food trucks, and local volunteers. WCK reports serving more than 1.6 million meals through that wildfire response, with 2,000 local volunteers supporting the work.

They have also provided food in Ukraine and Gaza, where war has disrupted homes, livelihoods, and access to necessities. WCK’s reporting describes local people doing the difficult work of helping feed their communities through those crises.

In January 2026, WCK announced that it had passed 600 million meals served worldwide since its founding in 2010.

Behind that number are people facing circumstances they never expected to be in. We know something about how quickly ordinary life can change. Our experience in Asheville is why we care so deeply about helping others receive support when it happens to them.

Helene inspired this fundraiser. We are raising money to support World Central Kitchen’s broader work wherever people need help.

Why Orbit Is Giving Back Now

Two years later, Orbit is in a stronger position, and we are grateful for that. Our customers have continued to support us, shop with us, and see us. That support gives us an opportunity to do something meaningful.

We also know that our experience does not represent everyone’s recovery. Asheville and Western North Carolina still have a long way to go. A business doing well does not mean the whole community is okay.

As we mark this anniversary, we want to put some of our gratitude into action. We want to support an organization that helped us when we needed it and continues to help people elsewhere.

The match is our way of making that commitment alongside our customers. We are asking you to participate, and we are putting our own money behind the appeal.

If you can contribute, thank you. If you can share the fundraiser with someone who might want to help, we appreciate that, too.

How to Give, and How the Match Works

When shopping with Orbit, you can add a donation to support World Central Kitchen. You can also round up your order and contribute the difference. Giving is optional, and you can choose an amount that works for you.

For every dollar customers donate through this campaign, Orbit DVD will contribute another dollar, until Orbit’s total matching contribution reaches $10,000.

A $5 donation receives a $5 match while matching funds remain. A $25 donation receives a $25 match. If customer gifts reach $10,000, Orbit will add $10,000, bringing the combined contribution to $20,000.

You are welcome to give beyond that customer total. Donations above the matching limit can help the fundraiser go beyond $20,000, although Orbit’s matching commitment remains capped at $10,000.

Small contributions count toward the match, too. Whether you round up an order or choose a larger amount, you are helping us support work we have seen has a direct influence on the wellbeing of the people in need.

World Central Kitchen helped feed our community through some of the hardest days we have experienced. We have not forgotten what that meant.

Thank you for helping us give something back.