Joplin Tornado Relief Help

chefdennis · May 28, 2011

If you don't wander into the soapbox you haven't seen this. I was in KC, MO this morning and figured I wasn't getting anything until next week so i decided to drive down to Joplin to see how I could be of help in cleanu efforts and maybe join the "support rally' scheduled for Sun.

Well if you are thinking of maybe coming down here anytime over the weekend...DON'T

I got into joplin about 1345...went to the volunteer center at the local college and was told "Thanks, but NO Thanks"...well at least until monday maybe tues....seem they have shut the major areas of Joplin down because...barry is coming to town tomorrow...and people are not real happy...they have more then enough people to do what they want done now and are telling people to go out to the smaller communities on the outskirts of Joplin...so off to Duquesne I went....met a really nice police officer at the townhall that was 'in charge"...told him why i was there and he said, Thanks, But NO Thanks....they had 200 people there helping yesterday, today they have 2000 and no plan in place for that many....he did tell me to stop back Sunday around 1000 and see IF they are working tomorrow....

Now, i was thinkin maybe just stop and ask anyone that was working if they needed help....cant do that...you need to register and have ID and a special wristband or you can be arrested...looters are a problem....

I did help a crew of "tree cutters" (5 of them) get back to their trucks for the night, hauled them and their equipment, they were from St Louis and been here since weds and were heading home...took them 5 -6 mile down the road..lol back to the local college....

So I am at the Mall where the "rally" is suppose to be tomorrow and I'll stay here tonight and then head to Duquesne in the morning to see if I can be of help....and go from there....

One thing I will say is that the number of people here already helping id really overwelming....There are people in the outlaying areas working and as the police officer told me, falling over each other....I didn't really think about it, but when you realize that you want to help, there are already 10 people ahead of you....this is a great country we live in, neighbors coming from all over the place to help people they don't know but know that they are in need...and doing it free, no charge at their own expense for the most part and just getting it done..

I am going to tstay and find a place to help tomorrow, and stay until i get a load out...but it is a very humblng sight to see...the place is a mess, but the people are doing what they need to do to get back to their way of life....

As I drove through a really hard hit part of Duquesne, houses all tornup I seen one house, busted up pretty bad, but not as bad as some of the others..and spray painted on the ft was the words "we will be fine".... i would like to think i would have that kind of attitude f something like this happened to me....not too sure I would....

cheri1122 · May 28, 2011

Thank you for sharing - and for volunteering [or trying to, lol].
I was hoping to do so too - Joplin is where I went to driving school, so I lived there for a month or so, and feel a bit of a connection, but the freight gods have kept me elsewhere lately.
I guess that's for the best, sounds like they're doing okay, I can just send $ instead.
I'm not surprised - Americans really are good people, and hard working too.

Ragman · May 28, 2011

It makes you realize that with all the bickering, name calling and other B.S. that goes on, Americans (and Canadians too, OVM) are good people.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

Ragman · May 28, 2011

Ragman said:
It makes you realize that with all the bickering, name calling and other B.S. that goes on, Americans (and Canadians too, OVM) are good people.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

Oh, the Brits too!!! (Sorry EL)

EnglishLady · May 28, 2011

Good for you Dennis - well done

greg334 · May 28, 2011

The one thing that is a bad thing is just showing up.

Not to take anything from Dennis but the people who are in charge of organizing relief have a hard time keeping things together at times and the just appeared volunteer makes it harder for them to do their job. I won't even explain the vetting process for some organizations who use volunteers.

If you are in the area, have your company call and see if there is a logistic roll you can fill pro bono or if there is anything you and others can do to help out as a company effort.

If you want to help but don't know where to turn, call the Red Cross and the Salvation Army to see if you can fill a volunteer position.

Also go to this site and follow the links.
FEMA: Helping Others

You can also give blood, money or drop off food at different locations (the Fema site has a link for that or call your church) that will be going there and other places it is needed.

As for me, I did what I can do, haven't slept much for the last 72 hours because I was driving a box truck picking up donations yesterday and dealing with the flood of the century here.

They are getting better organized as time goes on.

tumbleweeds · May 28, 2011

Dennis, thanks for the try. We live in Joplin but were in Detroit when the stuff hit the fan. My wife used to work at St. Johns. We started calling everyone we knew and offered to help, but were told that they had more help then they could handle. We will be driving through late Monday night on a run to Texas and will check our mail and do a little one on one help for some friends. We will be in and out in half an hour. We have been told that they have plenty of clothing but might be able to use some bedding. Mainly they need cash. So we will kick in what we have. We love this town. They have been very good to us over the years and we will return the love. Thanks for all who have helped our friends and family. We were some of the lucky ones.