Former NC State player assists with Greensboro tornado relief
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WTVD) -- As the tornado rolled through Greensboro on Sunday people were left without power, homes destroyed and devastated.
"Everybody takes pride in being from here and everybody loves the city," said Sam Hunt, former N.C. State basketball player and Greensboro native. "The people that grew up raising kids here - to see their houses be down, it touched me tremendously and I just wanted to see if I could put my effort in and do something to help the city out."
Hunt, who played in his hometown for North Carolina A&T University before becoming a grad transfer for the Wolfpack, wasn't in the city when the twister struck, but it hit him hard.
"I'm 23. I've never witnessed one," Hunt said. "For me to be out of town and get a phone call, it was crazy. Didn't understand it. Didn't know what was going on. First thing I saw was pictures. I still couldn't believe it until I drove around last night to see what it looks like."
Hunt posted a message to Instagram on Monday saying he and his family would walk house to house cleaning and providing care to those in need.
"Hygiene products, baby food, just things to keep them going right now and that's the main thing. It's nothing spectacular," Hunt said, "but we just wanted to help as much as we can."
Hunt's messaged encouraged others to join in, including former N.C. State basketball players Lennard Freeman and Beejay Anya.
The two also decided to sell their N.C. State basketball jerseys on Instagram, giving half of the proceeds to victims of the tornado.
Although no major damage was done to Hunt's parents' home, he grew up in the east part of town where the storm hit the hardest, and he lived there until he was 8, so he knows a lot of people affected by the tornado.
"Older people that I've known that have paid their mortgage off," he said. "It's a crazy feeling to know this can actually happen, so don't take anything for granted."
