Hurricane Florence Relief Fund

Hurricane Florence ravaged the coast of the Carolinas in September 2018. Though many more disasters have occurred since then that have grabbed the attention of the media, communities in the Carolinas are still putting the pieces of their lives back together. More than a year down the road, GlobalGiving is still supporting our local nonprofit partners to bring recovery and a sense of normalcy to those most impacted.

One partner, Greene Lamp, continues to directly serve low-income families in eastern North Carolina, whose lives were devastated by Hurricane Florence. In an update from December, Greene Lamp’s Executive Director Angela Bates shared a striking story of their work:

“One family of four was only able to live in a small section of their home where they had torn out the sheetrock walls, carpet, and tile, while the remainder of their home had succumbed to mold. Greene Lamp and GlobalGiving provided funds to purchase subflooring and sheetrock for the unlivable area in their home.“

GlobalGiving also recently made a grant in support of the critical disaster recovery work of Lutheran Family Services in the Carolinas. Their team continues to provide financial assistance to the elderly, people with disabilities, and low-income residents. This assistance will include temporary shelter, help with home rebuilding, HVAC repair, and the purchase of appliances and furniture. 

The team’s Disaster Director Paul Dunn shares:

“For many low-income families, the damage from Hurricane Florence caused them to fall behind on these bills and as a result, volunteers are not able to complete repair work until these obligations are caught up. Assisting survivors with these expenses will help to get families back into safe living conditions.”

Thank you for generously supporting local relief and recovery efforts and for helping our nonprofit partners care for those impacted by Hurricane Florence. GlobalGiving will soon be making its final grants from our Hurricane Florence Relief Fund in support of our local network of nonprofit partners based in impacted communities. Stay tuned in the months ahead to learn how your donation is driving much-needed recovery efforts in the Carolinas.

With gratitude,

Claire Hilton + the GlobalGiving team

It has been more than a year since Hurricane Florence claimed more than 50 lives and damaged thousands of homes and buildings. News about the recovery process may not make the headlines, but our nonprofit partners are still hard at work, listening to affected communities and meeting the needs of the most vulnerable. 

Here’s how your generosity is making a difference:

Some groups that were left particularly vulnerable after Hurricane Florence include the elderly, individuals with disabilities, and low-income families. Our partner Lutheran Family Services in the Carolinas wants to make sure that everyone has a fair chance at recovery, which is why they have been helping vulnerable survivors move from unsafe living conditions and into temporary housing while waiting for more permanent housing solutions to be found. The organization has used its most recent grant from GlobalGiving to provide temporary shelter assistance to 51 households, consisting of 112 adults and children. Director of Foundation Relations, Melissa Parrish, says this about what your donations have made possible:

“The impact this funding has had on survivors is almost unimaginable. Not only has it assisted in moving them out of terrible situations, such as living in tents, cars or mold-riddled homes, but it has also reminded them that they have not been forgotten.”

Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders is using your donations and the help of volunteers to rebuild homes for low-income families in New Bern, North Carolina. It recognizes that low-income individuals are often the last to gain any sense of normalcy, and recovery often seems like a “distant vision.” It also recognizes the specific risks that the gutted out homes pose to particular groups like the elderly, who deal with heightened trip-and-fall hazards. As a result, the organization recently restored another seven families in need to their sturdy, new homes. To further this process, GlobalGiving made a grant earlier this year to support the organization’s purchase of construction materials to assist families in navigating the rebuilding process.

Wilmington Area Rebuilding Ministry Inc (WARM) has been hard at work rebuilding six homes for low-income homeowners in three different counties in North Carolina. Not only has the organization worked to make homes livable again by repairing what was damaged by Hurricane Florence, but it has also taken the time to make additional repairs so that homes are safer and more accommodating, including repairs to make homes more accessible to individuals with disabilities and the elderly.

With the giant financial burden of attempting to repair damaged or destroyed housing looming, even more families are unable to replace the household furnishings that made it a true home. Furniture Finders is helping restore comfort and peace of mind by providing much-needed furniture at no cost to those with damaged or destroyed homes. By letting affected individuals select the furnishings they want, Furniture Finders is hoping to restore to survivors a sense of dignity and free up their finances to be used on other essential costs of living. To date, the organization has helped more than 160 families with furnishings and has recently helped renovate apartments for another 100 residents.

Thank you for your incredible support of community-led relief efforts. Your donations have made it possible for vulnerable communities to receive the care and support they deserve. We look forward to sharing more on how our partners are working toward long-term recovery in the future.

Warmly,

Claire + the GlobalGiving team