Photo feature: 8 Days of Hope

The damage from a hurricane doesn’t miraculously disappear as soon as the cameras are turned off and the reporters leave. This is a reality that the residents of Pamlico County know well. Nine months after Hurricane Irene ravaged the coast of North Carolina, there was still work to be done.

The North Carolina Community Foundation also knows that rebuilding takes time. In May it allocated additional grants from the statewide Disaster Relief Fund to help with recovery from Irene. The NCCF first allocated grants to help with recovery in October 2011.  The grants from the Disaster Relief Fund, combined with grants from the Pamlico County Community Foundation’s community grant making fund, helped support 8 Days of Hope, a volunteer event to rebuild homes damaged by Irene.

8 Days of Hope took place May 26 to June 2. During that time, 1,685 volunteers from across the U.S. and three other countries  went to Pamlico County and completed 500 projects in 126 homes.

“8 Days of Hope had  an amazing impact  on  uplifting the morale and hopes of the county,” said Dawn Baldwin-Gibson, chairperson of the Pamlico County Disaster Recovery Coalition. “The joy that was shared by the volunteers to the homeowners was a real blessing.”

NCCF is still collecting gifts for the statewide Disaster Relief Fund. Credit card donations can be made online through the NCCF website via this link or under “Giving.”  You can also download a contribution form here and mail it to NCCF at 4601 Six Forks Road, Suite 524, Raleigh, NC 27609 or fax it to 919-828-5495. Please designate your gift for “Disaster Relief.” All gifts are tax-deductible.