I had posted last week about how I felt about the tornado victims in Joplin--how I ached for them, and wanted to help but did not know how. Funny, the people I work with mentioned on their Facebook page taking this huge box truck full of relief supplies to the area--if we could get it filled.
We decided we wanted to make the push and collect what we could. Jeff and his wife Sarah reached out to their friends, and I reached out to mine. I got RunnersWorld in the loop, and with the help of Brian and Kathy and some FaceBook blitzes, we accumulated lots and lots of needed supplies.
We had lots of pet food, big plastic containers, trash bags, lawn chairs, first aid stuff, cleaning supplies, new and used clothes, towels, bedding, sleeping bags, and of course, running shoes. I want to thank Brian and Misti Stanton, Ken Saveth and Know No Boundries, and Mike and Diane Snyder for very generous cash donations. With this cash, Dana and I in turn stimulated WalMart's economy buying two very full shopping carts full of more stuff. Diana's daughter-in-law Darla brought by several bags of food stuff. Another friend of mine--Jennifer Bailey, a rep for a distributer we do business with--brought by 4 huge RubberMaid tubs full of new baby clothes, cleaning stuff, toiletries, flashlights and batteries, and I don't know what all. I do know I almost got a hernia hoisting them into the truck. So many other people helped by bringing prepaid cell phones, brooms, shovels, and pre-packaged food. My running buddy Mitch Drummond brought his Jeep LOADED with lots more relief items he had collected from his work. Jeff, Sarah, and I were amazed.
Below are several pictures posted in the order they were taken. I took around 70 pics, and each one of them leaves me dumbstruck. It is sickening to view them, but I still feel the need to post them. It was no thrill to see this area, but was very humbling. It is far worse than a picture can convey.
The edge of the the tornado path left extensive damage to the houses and trees. Some of these houses can be rebuilt, but down the block a few houses, the damage to the homes left them unsalvagable.
Jeff and I stopped to see a friend in the storm path whose house was totalled. The exterior walls were standing, but leaning in places. Bits and pieces of the roof were gone.
Their back patio door was exploded into the back yard.
A view out their back door. I asked Al, who was home during the massacre, how long the tornado pounded on his house. He said it felt like an hour, but was actually at least 15 minutes. They were so fortunate the walls stayed up. Thier lives were spared, unlike so many others in the nearby area.
Two houses further north and beyond. Devastation was an understatement.
The path of the storm was at least a mile wide, and it left a 6-8 mile long gouge out of the life of Joplin.
During a storm, without a storm cellar or safe room, the best place is in an interior bathroom in the tub, or in an interior closet or hallway. But when the house is completly flattened, or a car is slammed through the house at 200 mph, you are helpless. It is by the grace of God that anyone survived in these houses here.
Obviously, a car is not a good place to be in a storm like this. You cannot outrun a mile wide EF5 tornado.
In the midst of such obliteration, this house withstood the storm.
In finding the best place to deliver our relief supplies, we were directed across town to the VFW. This meant we had to travel from south to north on business &!, where the mall, WalMart, and Home Depot were destroyed as well as many restaurants, gas stations, and motels. This area may never look the same.
The folks at the VFW were a little overwhelmed by the mass amounts of donations, but they had the manpower to receive it and get it organized.
Several tables were used in the main hall to display the different clothing and food items.
This disaster has tugged at the heart of many people, and the donations are flowing. Through this calamity, Joplin is being helped.
But it will take months and months of continued help to overcome this disaster. Keep an open ear and an open heart to the further needs of Joplin. Besides the obvious food and clothing, they will need the physical help of many to restore the remains of their city. The Boomtown Half Marathon nthat was to take place in Joplin an a few weeks is obviously cancelled, and a movement is underway to head to the area anyway and donate a day of clean-up work. As I hear of more details about this, I'll post it here.
We decided we wanted to make the push and collect what we could. Jeff and his wife Sarah reached out to their friends, and I reached out to mine. I got RunnersWorld in the loop, and with the help of Brian and Kathy and some FaceBook blitzes, we accumulated lots and lots of needed supplies.
We had lots of pet food, big plastic containers, trash bags, lawn chairs, first aid stuff, cleaning supplies, new and used clothes, towels, bedding, sleeping bags, and of course, running shoes. I want to thank Brian and Misti Stanton, Ken Saveth and Know No Boundries, and Mike and Diane Snyder for very generous cash donations. With this cash, Dana and I in turn stimulated WalMart's economy buying two very full shopping carts full of more stuff. Diana's daughter-in-law Darla brought by several bags of food stuff. Another friend of mine--Jennifer Bailey, a rep for a distributer we do business with--brought by 4 huge RubberMaid tubs full of new baby clothes, cleaning stuff, toiletries, flashlights and batteries, and I don't know what all. I do know I almost got a hernia hoisting them into the truck. So many other people helped by bringing prepaid cell phones, brooms, shovels, and pre-packaged food. My running buddy Mitch Drummond brought his Jeep LOADED with lots more relief items he had collected from his work. Jeff, Sarah, and I were amazed.Below are several pictures posted in the order they were taken. I took around 70 pics, and each one of them leaves me dumbstruck. It is sickening to view them, but I still feel the need to post them. It was no thrill to see this area, but was very humbling. It is far worse than a picture can convey.
The edge of the the tornado path left extensive damage to the houses and trees. Some of these houses can be rebuilt, but down the block a few houses, the damage to the homes left them unsalvagable.
Jeff and I stopped to see a friend in the storm path whose house was totalled. The exterior walls were standing, but leaning in places. Bits and pieces of the roof were gone.
Their back patio door was exploded into the back yard.
A view out their back door. I asked Al, who was home during the massacre, how long the tornado pounded on his house. He said it felt like an hour, but was actually at least 15 minutes. They were so fortunate the walls stayed up. Thier lives were spared, unlike so many others in the nearby area.
Two houses further north and beyond. Devastation was an understatement.
The path of the storm was at least a mile wide, and it left a 6-8 mile long gouge out of the life of Joplin.
During a storm, without a storm cellar or safe room, the best place is in an interior bathroom in the tub, or in an interior closet or hallway. But when the house is completly flattened, or a car is slammed through the house at 200 mph, you are helpless. It is by the grace of God that anyone survived in these houses here.
Obviously, a car is not a good place to be in a storm like this. You cannot outrun a mile wide EF5 tornado.
In the midst of such obliteration, this house withstood the storm.
In finding the best place to deliver our relief supplies, we were directed across town to the VFW. This meant we had to travel from south to north on business &!, where the mall, WalMart, and Home Depot were destroyed as well as many restaurants, gas stations, and motels. This area may never look the same.
The folks at the VFW were a little overwhelmed by the mass amounts of donations, but they had the manpower to receive it and get it organized.
Several tables were used in the main hall to display the different clothing and food items.
This disaster has tugged at the heart of many people, and the donations are flowing. Through this calamity, Joplin is being helped.
But it will take months and months of continued help to overcome this disaster. Keep an open ear and an open heart to the further needs of Joplin. Besides the obvious food and clothing, they will need the physical help of many to restore the remains of their city. The Boomtown Half Marathon nthat was to take place in Joplin an a few weeks is obviously cancelled, and a movement is underway to head to the area anyway and donate a day of clean-up work. As I hear of more details about this, I'll post it here.
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