BOLIVIA, NC (WWAY) — At halftime of the Dolphins game on Jan. 5, Joe and Moe Stanley were about to steal the show, but nobody knew it. They didn’t want anyone to know.

In December, the two brothers from Shallotte had called friends and family from all over to try and raise money for the college. They say almost everyone they asked ended up donating. As the donations increased, so did the anticipation.

The final tally remained secret – and when revealed, it turned out to be the game’s biggest assist.

“The amount also shocked us,” Moe Stanley said. “We told someone from the college foundation what to write, and it blew her away.”

“And the president was there, it blew him away too,” added Joe Stanley.

They go back a long way with Walter Shaw, the head coach of the men’s team. From the inner circle, he was the last to find out (even though he kept asking Joe and Moe what they had brought up throughout the process), and his reaction was visible.

“Walt passed out,” chuckled Joe. “When you give your best, it comes back to you.”

It seems to fit a lot of what Joe and Moe have dedicated their lives to.

Joe and Moe are 2 of 4 in their family. All the children in the family played basketball. Both brothers went to Southeastern CC in Whiteville, Joe went to UNC Charlotte to get a business administration degree and got a job in banking. Moe was vice principal for 13 years – 3 at college and 10 at West Brunswick High School.

“We’ve been around,” Moe said. “It’s in our bloodstream. We realize the value of helping others. It’s something our father taught us. The fact is, when you help others, you also help yourself. It was an absolutely fantastic feeling to realize that people really cared enough to give.

With upbringings and ambitions like theirs, Joe and Moe could have easily chased money and aspirations, but their father instilled in them the value of community.

“Our father believed at the time that graduating black kids — due to lack of jobs — would always move north for better opportunities,” Moe said. “He told us, ‘You need to come home because we need people like you in our community.’

That’s what they’ve been doing ever since.

“We try to help young children. It’s always been a passion for us,” Joe said. It’s not the only passion they share. “We have always been basketball addicts. We go to tournaments, take kids to tournaments and stay all day watching basketball. It’s just what we like. We have always loved sports. We used to go out in the cornfield and take the roads and level them and score goals and play basketball on Sunday afternoons with all our friends,” Joe explained. “We have become quite competitive.”

This proves the power of community relations. The brothers brought in people who weren’t even affiliated with Brunswick County. But because of who they are, even famous people still haven’t been shy about helping out. A donation came from a former UNC Charlotte teammate of Joes who later played for the Boston Celtics.

“I got to know Cedric Maxwell personally,” Joe said. “I picked up the phone and asked him if he wanted to match what we got…He sent me a contribution. He remembered me from school You call on your resources. You never know who will end up in a position of financial wealth. You never know when you’re coaching a Michael Jordan.

“Yes, you never know when you coach a Michael Jordan, but you always coach and always teach a good citizen. Some people have different talents, but everyone – you have to keep in mind that you are helping people become better citizens.

Ultimately, that’s why they do what they do – to show the next generation that they got help, they used it and it put them in this position to give back.

“If you’re a person with an excess heart, someone who cares about others, I think if there’s one thing we’re missing today is that we don’t care enough about them. each other. If we really care about each other. Reach out and help people. It doesn’t have to be that. Look around, find something or someone you can help,” says Moe.

“Time and time again I heard ‘Joe and Moe donated…’ No, Joe and Moe handed over the donation that the community gave us. And we want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts.