Even as the rains of Hurricane Florence continued to fall, agents and staff from our Southport and Oak Island offices banded together to get relief supplies to their storm-ravaged community in an initiative set into motion by our very own Ginger Harper.
Brunswick County was particularly hard hit. Tidal flooding, downed trees, washed-out roads, and a major dam breech rendered many communities inaccessible. Hundreds were rescued from the area throughout the storm, but thousands were left with neither power nor water, nor any way out.
Harper, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage agent and Southport resident, surveyed the storm’s impact on her property and felt compelled to reach out. “I feel so blessed to have so little damage to my home,” said Harper, “I feel that I must get out and help those that were so much less fortunate.” She contacted Sea Coast Advantage management promptly after the immediate threat of the storm had passed, expressing her desire to set up a collection site for relief supplies at our Southport office.
Assistance and donations poured in from the Sea Coast Advantage family, including Denise Rainwater, Sharon Zak, Shelley Morrow, Cindy Young, Cheri Ewald, Kris Aroner, Carol Averitte, Gail Clements, Lisa Faile, Kim Savage, Mark Irby, Jason Robbins, and Penny Kruger, as well as Harper’s own grandchildren. Supplies were distributed to neighbors in need throughout the community. Harper and other volunteers hauled donations and offered support to New Creations Worship Center, Waves of Praise Worship Center, Trinity United Methodist Church, Beach Road Baptist Church, Southport City Gym, St. Philips Episcopal Church, Brunswick County Airport, South Brunswick High School, Shallotte Villas, and Boiling Spring Lakes Fire Department.
“It is a community coming together to help others,” Harper said, noting that even staff at the Food Lion and Dollar Tree stores in Southport went the extra mile to lend a hand.