Michael Jordan donating $2 million to Hurricane Florence relief and recovery efforts

Michael Jordan is donating $2 million to relief and recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Florence, which tore through his home state of North Carolina last week.

Jordan, the former Chicago Bulls legend who now works as the chairman of the Charlotte Hornets, will donate $1 million to the American Red Cross and $1 million to The Foundation For the Carolinas' Hurricane Florence Response Fund, according to a news release.

Jordan spent most of his childhood in Wilmington, North Carolina — which has received two feet of rain over the past week — and starred at the University of North Carolina before turning pro.

"It’s truly devastating for me to see the damage that Hurricane Florence is doing to my beloved home state of North Carolina and to the surrounding areas," Jordan said in a statement last week. "The recovery effort will be massive, and it will take a long time to repair the damage and for families to get back on their feet."

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Jordan's donations are part of a larger effort by the Hornets and the NBA to assist in recovery. Members of the Hornets organization plan to pack boxes of meals that will be sent to affected areas Friday, according to a news release, and the team is also selling "Carolina Strong" shirts, with proceeds to benefit the Florence response fund.

Hurricane Florence, which made landfall last week, has resulted in 32 deaths and left more than 300,000 people without power, as of Tuesday.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.