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North Carolina Star Uses NIL to Help Hurricane Helene Victims

Tar Heels' Kaimon Rucker making $10,000 donation, matched by Wells Fargo and Food Lion Feeds

Michael Ehrlich

Oct 14, 2023; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels linebacker Kaimon Rucker (25) celebrates after sacking the Miami Hurricanes quarterback in the second half at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nell Redmond-Imagn Images
Oct 14, 2023; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels linebacker Kaimon Rucker (25) celebrates after sacking the Miami Hurricanes quarterback in the second half at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nell Redmond-Imagn Images / Nell Redmond-Imagn Images
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Fresh off a career-high eight tackles, three sacks, and one interception performance against Virginia over the weekend, North Carolina defender Kaimon Rucker is leveraging his NIL success to support the local community in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

The graduate student and semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award is making a $10,000 donation to the MANNA FoodBank in Asheville, N.C., directly helping Helene victims.

"For me, it was heartbreaking to see towns and places that people cherished so much now suffering," Rucker said. "And I thought to myself, why not use my platform from the NIL I earn here to give back to the people who truly need it?"

"My thoughts and prayers are with not only the people of Western North Carolina, but also the entire towns that have been affected by Hurricane Helene," he added. "This is just a small drop in a big pond of support for everyone, but we are praying for you and we are still supporting you as you build back from what the hurricane took from all of you."

North Carolina athletic department corporate partners Wells Fargo and Food Lion Feeds are joining in by matching Rucker's donation. Wells Fargo will make a $10,000 contribution and Food Lion Feeds will donate 10,000 meals to MANNA FoodBank in Rucker's name.

"Food Lion Feeds and Wells Fargo having the ability to match my donation shows the great character of these businesses," Rucker continued. "This partnership to give back to the people and the area is a tremendous help."

After his career-high performance against Virginia, Rucker was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week and the Bednarik Player of the Week by the Maxwell Football Club.

While his previous NIL partnerships include UNC Threads, NIL Store and Old Well Management, among others, this is by far his most meaningful and a shining example of the power that student-athletes have to leverage this new landscape to give back.

Rucker and the Tar Heels next visit Florida State on Saturday at 3:30PM ET on ACC Network.

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Michael Ehrlich
MICHAEL EHRLICH

Michael Ehrlich is a seasoned sports marketing executive with experience across the global sports brand, athlete representation, media and education sides of the business. The Founder and CEO of Playbook Marketing, Ehrlich consults with brands on all things NIL and athlete partnerships, advises student-athletes on their personal brand building endeavors and is an adjunct professor at his alma mater, the University of Southern California where he teaches a course on athlete communications and marketing. As a writer, his previous bylines include Boardroom, Business of College Sports, DIME Magazine and UPROXX, among others. You can follow him across social media at @MichaelEhrlich and reach out via michael@playbook-marketing.com

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