Michael Jordan is helping out his old stomping grounds after the effects of Hurricane Florence.
The former basketball player, who was raised in Wilmington, North Carolina, will be donating $2 million to the American Red Cross and the Foundation For The Carolinas’ Hurricane Florence Response Fund, according to an NBA press release.
Jordan is the current co-chairman of Charlotte basketball team the Hornets.
“You gotta take care of home. Wilmington truly is my home,” Jordan said in an interview with The Charlotte Observer on Tuesday.
In addition to Jordan’s donation, Hornets players and staff will “help pack disaster food boxes” that will be “distributed to those who have been directly impacted by the hurricane.” Their goal is to pack 5,000 boxes.
“People need to understand this will not be a week-long process,” Jordan said. “This is going to have a huge disruption on people’s lives—not for 10 days, but for years.”
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Hurricane Florence was downgraded to a tropical storm, but the death toll is still on the rise, which has risen to at least 32 as of Tuesday afternoon according to BBC News. Authorities are also still highly concerned about flooding.
“I cannot overstate it: Flood waters are rising. If you aren’t watching for them, you are risking your life,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said, according to a press release issued last Saturday.
The National Hurricane Center predicts that by the end of the storm, over 40 inches of rain will have fallen in parts of the Carolinas.
Jordan, the NBA and the Hornets have teamed together to launch a donation platform with verified local organizations focused on immediate Hurricane Florence relief efforts. You can make a donation here.
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