Hope Community Church accepting donations to assist Florence victims

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) —

A church in the Triangle is collecting donations and pledging to help with the rebuilding process following Hurricane Florence.

“It’s nice to see the community really coming together and it’s good to know that any of us could be affected at any time. And just to see people really rally and care about each other,” said Kristen Bosworth, who donated food towards those efforts at Hope Community Church.

RELATED: FEMA Disaster Recovery Center opens in Fayetteville to help victims of Florence

Hope Community Church has three locations in the Triangle–Apex, Raleigh, and Morrisville. All three are taking part in the charity drive.

“Our goal with this is we’re going to be sending trucks down every Thursday for the next few weeks as long as supplies keep coming in and there’s a need on their end,” said Donnie Peters, the Campus Pastor at the Apex location.

Peters explained they have teamed up with Catalyst Church in Jacksonville, through a former pastor who is now on staff there. So far, they have sent down two U-Haul’s worth of goods, with some members packing their vehicles and driving down materials themselves.

“As of yesterday, we’ve already been able to serve about 585 families, and I think that translates into just under 2,400 individuals,” said Peters. “So that’s just been in less than a week really of how many lives have been impacted.”

Peters added they are already working towards assisting with future rebuilding efforts.

“We’re also putting together teams that down the road as we have opportunities to send people to physically help – whether that’s tearing down houses above or below the water line, and then getting in and rebuilding,” said Peters. “We’ll be sending down teams to help with that as well, so seems like the need is tremendous down there and it’s a privilege for us to be part of helping them.”

RELATED: Florence flooding: Fayetteville residents endured Matthew flooding, now Florence

According to the Governor’s Office, FEMA has approved nearly $14.5 million in Individual Assistance Grants, with about $8.8 million of that has already been distributed to survivors. So far, 74,000 people statewide have applied for help from FEMA.

On Sunday, Robeson County officials announced the curfew has been lifted.

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