Last week, the Young Democrats of North Carolina had a chance to volunteer with the Hurricane Irene recovery efforts. Though the loss of life was mitigated by a successful evacuation effort led by Governor Bev Perdue, the physical destruction couldn't be stopped. Hundreds of millions of dollars in crops were lost, and some homes were completely destroyed - either by flood damage or tornadoes spawned by the hurricane.

The Young Democrats of North Carolina spent September 3rd assisting Hurricane Irene relief efforts in Beaufort and Tyrrell Counties. In the morning, they demolished a church barn in Chocowinity that was totaled by the storm. In the afternoon, they went to Columbia, where the hurricane had spawned tornadoes & caused significant amounts of damage. YDNC assisted a family by picking up the remains of a house that was no longer there.

I was affected by the experience. There's something about actually being there that is powerful. We did our best to help, but we can walk away at the end of the day. North Carolina's going to
have to keep working hard for the people who can't.

I want to give a special shout-out to YDNC 1st District Chair Akilah Ensley of Greenville who organized the trip. As ya'all know Greenville, NC was also in Irene's path.