Helping storm victims with shirts that are Made in North Carolina

(WGHP) — Over the past few weeks, we have seen an outpouring of support for people in the western mountains of our state.

The recovery for many people will take years. Now people can show their support with a new shirt, and Brad Jones discovered that it comes from a small business that came up with an idea and design that’s Made in North Carolina.

When Hurricane Helene hit our state, it cut off power and lines of communication. Maddie and Will Palmer live in Winston-Salem, but they couldn’t get in touch with a friend and co-worker in Weaverville.

They didn’t know if their co-worker Lisa was ok, or even trapped by the damage.  Fortunately, Lisa was ok, and able to relocate to stay with family out of state. But the Palmers wanted to help in some way.

They decided to use Maddie’s clothing brand, Miss Maddie Mae, to sell shirts with the profits going to hurricane relief, developing a pair of designs with the logo, Carolina Strong.

It was simple, yet powerful and the orders quickly started to come in. They added new colors and styles, so customers could buy it on a t-shirt, sweatshirt, hat or decal.

The money they’re raising will go to the American Red Cross disaster relief fund.  And that decision was personal too, because in 2019 Will was trapped in South Carolina by Hurricane Dorian.

He was rescued by the Red Cross and spent several days in a shelter.  While he was there, he helped the relief workers and saw what they did firsthand. He told us, “I went out with them that week; they were doing so much good. Setting up shelters, distributing food and water – it was fantastic”.

Will never forgot how much he needed help at that moment, so they felt it was important to give back right now and help people who have nowhere else to turn.

Their designs, sold through MissMaddieMae.com raised around $12,000 in the first week alone, with an additional $10,000 the second week. It shows the power of an image, along with the determination of two people who know what it’s like to need help during a storm and didn’t want a friend to face this storm alone.

To order one of the items, with the profits going to disaster relief, check their website www.missmaddiemae.com – or their social media pages on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest.

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