RALEIGH, N.C. — NC State football player Davin Vann was on the road, weaving his way through obstacles at the Wolfpack’s indoor practice facility midway through a game week.
And it had nothing to do with Wake Forest’s upcoming visit.
Instead, he carefully stepped through and over boxes of canned food, piles of bottled water, shopping bags full of diapers, personal hygiene products and batteries. The defensive end known for chasing ball carriers was, in a sense, playing quarterback, leading a donation drive to help Hurricane Helene victims in western North Carolina with the help of his family’s moving company.
The ride – so successful that it has been extended to the rest of the week – is just one example of several sports-related efforts to help people affected by the storm that left a shocking trail of destruction in parts of the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee.
“That was kind of my mindset going into it, kind of like, ‘I hope we get enough people to help at least a little bit,’” Vann told The Associated Press. “So yeah, it was a lot more than I expected.”
The death toll has exceeded 200 after the Category 4 storm swept through the Southeast last week, causing flooding to wash out roads and shut down entire communities that lacked electricity, water and cell service. Relief efforts are underway in multiple states, including from college and professional sports.
In Charlotte, David Tepper – owner of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers – and his wife Nicole did just that have pledged $3 million to relief efforts through their foundation. The NBA’s Charlotte Hornets and retired NBA and North Carolina great Michael Jordan’s NASCAR racing team have each pledged $1 million for relief efforts.
Not far away, in Concord, the Charlotte Motor Speedway circuit, known for its NASCAR races, held a donation drive for several days and extended that work through Thursday due to strong community response. Closer to the destruction is a parade of trucks carrying donations arrived at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Thursday.
In eastern Tennessee, Bristol Motor Speedway was designated a regional emergency response center, where donations were accepted.
“Our communities, friends and loved ones are hurting, and we stand ready to help in any way we can,” said Jerry Caldwell, president and general manager of the speedway.
Elsewhere in that state, Eastern Tennessee State University has raised donations by sending four vans to a nearby high school to be used as a shelter and taking four truckloads to a church in Erwin. The Buccaneers host Chattanooga in football on Saturday, with fans asked to bring more items to donate.
North Carolina State’s indoor practice facility and Carter-Finley Stadium share the same parking lot as the Lenovo Center, the arena of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh. While Vann was busy helping people unload donations Wednesday night, the Hurricanes held a fundraiser tied to their preseason game against the Nashville Predators and raised about $280,000 to help Helene.
Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said Vann’s mother, Joy Hall, owner of the Cary-based company Joyful Movers that opened in 2006, reached out shortly after the storm. Their plan was to gather supplies for the larger relief efforts of the Durham Rescue Mission.
As Vann sorted through supplies Wednesday evening and greeted donors with a handshake, Hall was there with other family members, working their way through a row of flattened cardboard boxes to get them ready to be packed with donations. Meanwhile, cars continued to trickle in, sometimes with supplies piled high in the back seat.
“I was very grateful to them,” Doeren said of Vann’s family on Thursday. “It’s an uplifting deal they’re making. And now it’s just multiplied, involving many people. And so a lot of our players have been helping, a lot of staff – our recruiting staff, our (operations) staff – a lot of hands on deck loading trucks, people from the community coming in and dropping things off for all the people who need it.”
Vann’s donation drive has already filled six trucks with supplies on Thursday, with more to come.
“It’s very heartwarming,” Vann said. “I am very pleased to see that the community is more than willing to give their time and money to help the people of western North Carolina, even if they have never met them before.”
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AP Sports Writers John Raby in West Virginia and Teresa M. Walker in Tennessee contributed to this report.