After Hurricane Florence WBTV Reports on Our Town America

WBTV Charlotte (September 2018) –Hurricane Florence flooded the Carolinas with a record-setting 24 inches of rainfall.   In fact, according to Moody’s Analytics, the total damage caused by Florence is estimated at $17-22 billion – making the hurricane one of the 10 costliest in history. Florence’s impact is, and will continue to be, devastating for tens of thousands of business owners throughout North and South Carolina who will spend months, potentially years, getting their lives – and businesses – back on track.

This makes this year’s National Good Neighbor Day (September 28) more important than ever in Charlotte and other communities throughout the Carolinas.   And one local business owner, Jane McElhaney, is trying to make it an uplifting day for local business owners with the “Charlotte Small Biz Storm Response Squad.”   She will travel all over Charlotte on September 28^th to surprise local business owners with balloons, food, gifts and a helping hand!

McElhaney created the “Charlotte Small Biz Storm Response Squad” to thank small businesses for being fantastic neighbors every day of the year – creating jobs, providing goods, keeping our local economy chugging, etc. – and remind them that the local community has their back as they pick up the pieces post-Florence.

President Jimmy Carter issued Proclamation 4601 in 1978 to recognize National Good Neighbor Day as a national holiday.   Carter’s reasoning was that “the noblest human concern is concern for others” and a sense of community is nurtured when everyone feels “part of a larger family.”   McElhaney’s mission is to ensure all local business owners know good neighbors are there for them in the wake of the storm.

Watch video below for full story.