Hurricane relief concert raises $325K
The hurricane relief show at East Carolina University’s Minges Coliseum on Nov. 13 raised $325,000, it was announced Tuesday.
Nearly 4,000 tickets were sold for the show, which featured headliners The Avett Brothers as well as Future Islands and Valient Thorr. Various members of all three bands have Greenville ties.
The Carolina Panthers sponsored the Concert for Hurricane Florence Relief and donated $25,000. (Photo by Rhett Butler)
Future Islands bassist William Cashion is an ECU alumnus and formed the synthpop group in Greenville with bandmates Sam Herring and Gerrit Welmers, who also attended ECU. Space-metal quintet Valient Thorr was also created locally when frontman “Valient Himself” was a student at ECU. The Grammy-nominated folk-rock band The Avett Brothers are from Concord, and Scott Avett is an ECU alumnus.
The concert was organized by the ECU Foundation, Uptown Greenville, the city of Greenville and Inner Banks Media. The Carolina Panthers were the official sponsor of the event and also donated $25,000.
“ECU – our students, our faculty and our staff – are committed to helping those people and communities affected by Hurricane Florence,” Chancellor Cecil Staton said. “Seeing the region’s organizations and bands join us in the relief effort has been remarkable, and I’m truly impressed with what this concert was able to achieve.”
The net proceeds from the show will go to five North Carolina charities: The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, The New Bern Relief Fund, RISE in Jones County, The Onslow Community Outreach Program and RAFI (Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA).
“I’m extremely appreciative of the university, the bands, Inner Banks Media, the Panthers, and anyone who had a hand in creating this event,” said New Bern Relief Fund chairman Buddy Bengel. “Our entire relief fund was set up to rebuild houses and businesses in New Bern. One hundred percent of the funds we receive will go toward capital projects here.”
The regional director of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina also voiced his appreciation for the support to local families.
“We’re thankful for the incredible support from this community, coming together so quickly to help North Carolinians in need,” said George Young. “The donations from the hurricane relief concert will go a long way in providing food and hope for people facing hunger.”
Hurricane Florence hit North Carolina on Sept. 14 as a Category 1 storm. Though it weakened, Florence dumped record rainfall across North Carolina, causing massive flooding, hundreds of road closures and 39 deaths in the state.
In an interview with the Raleigh News & Observer, Scott Avett said his own experiences with hurricanes made him want to show support for Florence victims. “I was in Concord for Hugo at age 12, and it wrecked everything,” he said. “And I was at ECU when both Fran and Floyd hit. I remember those so well and I saw firsthand what they did. All those storms made me an advocate for helping people who have experienced that type of damage.”
ECU set up a website to help those affected by Hurricane Florence and established its own relief fund. Long term, ECU will support groups of communities and businesses in the region with technical expertise to create recovery plans, hold workshops for business recovery and provide grant- and loan-writing services.
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