Waste Not, Want Not: Porters Neck Village Donates Appliances to Hurricane Helene Victims
It’s been seven months since Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina, but those affected are still far from recovered. The category 4 major hurricane caused widespread damage and changed countless lives across the Southeastern United States, making it the deadliest storm since Katrina in 2005.
Today, communities and families across the U.S. are rebuilding, trying to gain back a semblance of normalcy after their homes and businesses were destroyed.
By the time Hurricane Helene reached our retirement community, Porters Neck Village, in Wilmington, NC, it had downgraded to a tropical, if heavy, storm, leading to some power outages and strong winds and rains less severe than our neighbors to the west. We know first-hand, though, the damage and difficulties extreme storms can bring, having experienced Hurricane Irene in 2011, Hurricane Florence in 2018, and the winter coastal “nor’easter” of 2023.
Just as other cities and counties came together to support our town during those catastrophes, we wanted to do the same for our neighbors to the west. Our current expansion project at our Life Plan Community gave us an opportunity to do just that. As part of our community upgrades we are adding a number of new and refurbished residences to our community. Many of the homes undergoing renovation had apartment and kitchen furnishings in perfectly good condition that were swapped out with newer or more modern models.
Enter Priceless Missions, a local renovation company, we’ve worked with them for 10 years and knew they could help connect us with individuals and families in western North Carolina who were rebuilding from Hurricane Helene. These families could provide a new home for our residences’ previous appliances, stoves, washing machines, refrigerators, cabinets, countertops, and more.
With their help, that’s just what happened. Our community’s expansion gave us an opportunity to pass on the kindness that was shown to us during Hurricane Florence, and through partnering with Priceless Missions we were able to do one small part to help our neighbors get back on their feet. For Suzanne Delgrosso, our Director of Administrative Services, this was a very personal project: “My home was destroyed in Hurricane Florence, so I personally know the feeling. We get to help others just like others helped us.”
Giving back to others is an important part of our senior living community in Wilmington, NC, where we regularly host blood drives, walk-a-thons, and food drives to help our neighbors and those in need. Check out our blog to see more of what’s going on at our community, and schedule a tour to stop by and see us for yourself!
Want to learn more about this story? Check out the WECT local news coverage of our Hurricane Helene donation.
