Jordan is donating $1M each to the Red Cross and Foundation for the Carolinas Florence Response FundGETTY IMAGES
Hornets Owner MICHAEL JORDAN is contributing $2M to relief and recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Florence, and he said he made the decision because "you gotta take care of home," according to a front-page piece by Rick Bonnell of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. Jordan was "raised in the coastal city of Wilmington," before he went on to the Univ. of North Carolina and the Bulls. Jordan's contribution will come in the form of $1M "each to the American Red Cross and the Foundation for the Carolinas Florence Response Fund." The Red Cross is "providing food and shelter to those displaced by the storm," while the FCFRF "directs funds to non-profits in North and South Carolina." Jordan said that the two-pronged approach is "intended to address not just the immediate impact of the storm but the long-term effects" on people all over the Carolinas whose lives "have been changed for the worse." Jordan said of the hurricane, "People need to understand this will not be a week-long process. This is going to have a huge disruption on people's lives -- not for 10 days, but for years." Bonnell notes Jordan "aspires that his contributions can have a viral effect" on others to donate money and effort, and to not "view this as a problem that will be solved in a matter of weeks." The Hornets are also "partnering with Fanatics on a hurricane relief T-shirt." The net proceeds from sales of the "Carolina Strong" shirt will "go to the Foundation for the Carolinas relief fund." Those shirts can be "ordered online at hornetsfanshop.com" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 9/19).
STORM HITS HOME: Jordan said of the communities impacted by the storm, "I know all of those places: Wilmington, Fayetteville, Myrtle Beach, New Bern, and Wallace, which is where my father is from. So quite naturally it hits home, and I felt like I had to act in a sense that this is my home." The AP's Steve Reed noted Jordan "plans to visit the area at some point when the roads are safe to travel and check up on family and friends." In addition to Jordan's $2M donation, more than 100 members of the Hornets organization will "help pack disaster food boxes," with the goal to "deliver 5,000 food boxes" to storm-affected communities. The Hornets Foundation also will "make a donation" to Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina (AP, 9/18).
