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“Operation Storm Relief” . . . A Tremendous Success |
 WRAL-TV staffers sort donated items in Rocky Mount |
 MIX 101.5’s Tack & Bill Jordan sort donated items |
 FOX and Durham Bulls volunteers assist with donations. |
If you want your faith in human kindness restored, look no further than Operation Storm Relief. On Tuesday, September 21, 2004, various CBC divisions, along with Harris Wholesale, Harris, Inc., Crabtree Valley Mall, Golden East (in Rocky Mount) and Harris Teeter, joined forces for one day to gather donations for victims of the recent hurricanes. “Operation Storm Relief” was a huge success generating more than $25,000 in monetary gifts and over 32,000 pounds of material goods from collection sites in Raleigh, Durham and Rocky Mount.
The event was created by the stations’ management in a matter of a few days following the severe flooding in western NC, with calls going out to the community to secure donation sites, volunteers and trucks. Donations began coming in at 11am, and by day’s end three tractor-trailer trucks from Harris, Inc. and Harris Teeter would be filled to the brim with paper goods, pet food, non-perishable items, cleaning supplies, baby food, water, cash and much more.
Volunteers from FOX50 and the Durham Bulls Baseball Club worked alongside the Salvation Army at the American Tobacco Historic District in Durham. Under a sunny sky, the group collected various goods to assist those devastated by recent rains and winds associated with hurricanes. “It was hard to imagine how Mother Nature can on this day be simply perfect and on other days be horrific”, quoted FOX50 volunteer Sheila Chast.
In Raleigh, MIX 101.5 staffers along with volunteers from The Healing Place collected enough supplies to fill a 53 foot trailer and $6300 dollars.
In Rocky Mount at Golden East Crossing Mall, WRAL-TV staffers worked tirelessly collecting and loading donated goods from a steady stream of donors throughout the day. Many Rocky Mount residents shared their own personal stories of having to rebuild their lives after Hurrican Floyd hit their region. “Lots of residents expressed their gratitude for a chance to give back to the many folks that helped them during their recovery efforts”, shared Loretta Harper-Arnold, WRAL-TV Community Relations Director.
Chast summed up the effort saying, “Many volunteers remembered other times in the past when CBC banded together to collect items for those in need. People never cease to amaze us. Some give more than one can imagine. Some give even when they don’t have much themselves. But unselfishness and kindness continues to be a strong feature within our community. And CBC is a huge part of that. Way to go CBC!”
Thank you to Sheila Chast, Cindy Sink, Loretta Harper-Arnold and Paige Ellis, for this capcom story and photos.
