When Michael Jordan Handed Out Thanksgiving Meals and Donated $2,000,000 in Wilmington After Hurricane Florence

Back in 2018, when Hurricane Florence ravaged North Carolina, Michael Jordan came out to help his home state. The Bulls icon traveled to Wilmington on Thanksgiving Day that year not just to spend time with his family but also to contribute to the relief efforts. Mike donated meals to the victims, handed out Jordans to kids, and made a $2 million contribution to help the community recover and rebuild.

The six-time NBA champion personally handed the meals outside a Lowe’s retail in Wilmington. He then spent time with kids in the Community Boys and Girls Club where he had opened up about how he felt it was his responsibility to come back and help his hometown. MJ said:

“I’m from here. This is where I learned how to play the game of basketball here, but I mean, being able to, in the position I am, be able to come back and give back, you know, and help some of the people deal with the struggles that they have to deal with, and just to try to ignite everybody else’s support, you know, obviously this is where I came from, and I want to initiate it, but then I think other people will follow.”

Michael Jordan handing out meals and shoes in Wilmington, North Carolina.
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The Hall of Famer then surprised the kids by giving away several pairs of Jordans. He was ecstatic to realize the profound effect his brand had on people.

“I’m very proud and very happy that we’ve evolved to where kids want something with my emblem on it, my name on it, and to me, if I can use this to inspire them just by giving them this start, great,” Jordan had said. “If it helps them educationally, if it helps them from a motivational standpoint, obviously it’s Thanksgiving. I’m happy to see these kids smile because they probably haven’t had the chance to smile in a long time.”

However, Jordan’s contribution wasn’t just confined to meals, gifts and a spirit-lifting presence.

MJ’s massive donation to help North Carolina recover

Jordan had donated $1 million each to the American Red Cross and The Foundation for the Carolinas’ Hurricane Florence Response Fund to help his community recover from the aftermath of the storm.

Since then, Jordan has made other significant contributions to help Wilmington. In 2021, he donated $17 million to Novant Health to open and operate clinics in the city. This led to the establishment of three centres of the Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinic.

Jordan’s philanthropic efforts are many, but he never seeks publicity or limelight for the work he does giving back to the society.