Southeastern North Carolina has experienced one of the coldest winters in several years, since the record cold break in 2018 when the temperatures were in the mere single digits and teens during January of 2018. That year we saw over 3 inches of snow in Wilmington, NC with accumulations elsewhere in the area lasting for several days. This is unusual weather for us. Since then we have experienced some relief in our Southern Winters; however, the upcoming weeks will have us dropping down into low temperatures registering in the teens once more. As the cold weather continues, communities in Columbus County are coming together to serve those in need that may otherwise not have a warm place to stay.
Facts of Life church Pastor Daisy Brooks and her ministry have opened up a Warming Center in Whiteville, NC to help ease the worry of locals without a way to properly stay warm. One of many aspects of her ministry, the warming center has been open for the coldest nights of the year in 2024 and continues to do so in 2025. Located at 506 N. Lee Street, Whiteville Pastor Daisy says the biggest item needed is financial support, donations, and volunteers to help keep the warming center open.
When a small group of ladies in the rural area of Hallsboro, NC heard about what Pastor Daisy was doing for the people of Columbus County they decided they needed to jump to action and help this mission. Shirley Sasser with Hallsboro United Methodist Church and her Ladies Circle met on Thursday, January 16th and decided that just donating a few items wasn’t enough. Ms. Sasser says that “if this facility can be opened for people, even just someone without appropriate heating, the homeless, anyone in need; then the least we can do is help support them.” The group plans to open Hallsboro United Methodist Church for a donation drop off area and to take any donations to the Facts of Life Warming Center over the course of this cold spell.
Volunteers will be at Hallsboro United Methodist Church on Saturday, January 18th and Saturday, January 25th to collect any donations from local residents wishing to donate to the Warming Center from 10am to 12pm. All donations will go to Pastor Daisy Brooks at the Facts of Life Church to be used for this mission and to help those in our county that are struggling to stay warm during this unusually cold winter.
-Story by Macyne Garrell
More on the Facts of Life Warming Center, Weather, and what you can do to help is here in this special report with CCN’s Macyne Garrell and CCN Chief Meteorologist Christopher Cawley.
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