It’s no question that Wilmington has been through a lot since Hurricane Florence hit. What I love to see is how well the community has come together. The efforts being taken to rebuild and restore Wilmington back to its beauty are phenomenal.
As I am returning to school and attempting to settle back into my regular schedule, I have been looking for ways that I can give back to the community and help rebuild the place I love to call home. One of the organizations I came across is WeWilmRebuild. This is a grassroots, Hurricane Florence relief and Wilmington rehabilitation project, led by (but not exclusive to) students. They did an amazing job connecting through social media and spreading the word on how people could help while Wilmington was closed off from the world. On their website wewilmrebuild.org you can help by donating or by dropping off supplies at one of the community drop offs.
Some other great ways to help are to shop local or volunteer to help clean up. Many local businesses lost up to two or more weeks worth of revenue they count on to support their lives and families. These next couple weeks consider stopping by a farmer’s market or making a trip downtown to the Cotton Exchange with your friends. There is a Riverfront Farmers Market on Saturday’s from 8am-1pm located in Riverfront Park on Water Street in Historic Downtown Wilmington. Other farmers markets include Wrightsville Beach Farmers Market and Carolina Beach Farmers Market.
Although the roads are now cleared and school has started back up there is still damage all around Wilmington. Many people have lost their homes for good and are having to completely relocate. I hope we can continue to give these people the support and help they need to get back on their feet as we recover from this tragedy. #ilmstrong
~Kirsten Pascale
IMC Hawks Blog 
Hi Kristen!
I loved your post, it is so true to remember that even though we are back in school so many places and families are still struggling and displaced. I feel awful for the UNCW freshman that had to get up and move all the way down to Carolina Beach – I feel as if this ruins many first year students experiences as they won’t be as involved living on campus. I actually just did my research paper for COM 200 on WeWilmRebuild organization, it’s great to see fellow seahawk students reaching out to help those in need!
When I was experiencing hurricane Florence back home, I also used many of the social media accounts to keep up with what was happening back in Wilmington. I remember seeing the “WeWilmRebuld” account a few days before the hurricane actually hit and feeling a sense of insecurity because I was prepared for what was about to happen to my town.