Victims of the Tornadoes Fund

The Victims of the Tornadoes Fund has provided a total of $101,311 to help families in Alabama and Missouri rebuild their lives.  These grants provide case management, medical treatment, appliances, furniture, legal aid, senior citizen services, childcare, transportation, and therapy. Most importantly, the Victims of the Tornadoes Fund helps rebuild lives by providing materials to repair or build homes, storm shelters, storage sheds, and accessible housing for individuals with disabilities.

These grants have been leveraged by the support of volunteers. For example, more than 150,000 volunteers came to Joplin and Duquesne, Missouri after the tornado to help with relief and recovery in projects such as thethe Joplin Area Habitat for Humanity, which gives many families a place to call home. The Cook family was among those
families that received a Habitat home and storm shelter.

Chris and Carrie Cook and their sons, Zachary and Aidan, lived in an apartment before the tornado. Being selected for a Habitat house was “a dream come true” for their family. They received a permanent home to personalize, do homework, eat supper, and enjoy spending time together.

“We never thought we were going to have a house to ourselves. The boys would always ask me, ‘Mom, why can’t we paint our room?’… I had to explain to them that we couldn’t do that because we lived in an apartment. We have been so very blessed through the storms. You can’t imagine the blessings we’ve had.”

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The Victims of the Tornadoes Fund was established on May 6, 2011 to assist our partner community foundations serving regions impacted by the devastating tornadoes of 2011. To date, the fund has raised $101,205.

Tornadoes that struck Shoal Creek Valley, Alabama left clear evidence of the loss to this St. Clair County Community.  The April storms hit two area fire stations hard, damaging a truck and buildings, and destroying almost all the gear used by the volunteers who serve the community as firefighters and medical first responders. Support from the Victims of the Tornadoes Fund has not only helped families rebuild, but has assisted Shoal Creek Fire and Rescue in getting back to full strength.  This is just one example of what the tornado recovery funds have been able to do thanks to the generosity of donors like you.

Talking to residents of Joplin, it’s clear that the events of May 22, 2011, are deeply personal. Of course the hurt starts with the loss of life; more than 160 residents gone in the minutes of the tornado and the days and weeks that followed.  But the second cut, unbelievably cruel in its own way, was the loss of thousands upon thousands of homes. With the destruction of a huge swath of the city came the loss of any sense of place for those who lost their houses and possessions. Landlords debated whether it was even worth rebuilding; available housing became scarce; citizens relocated to other towns. Simply finding a place to start was an overwhelming proposition.  Funding from the Victims of the Tornadoes Fund is helping to rebuild this devastated community.

To date, the Victims of the Tornadoes Fund has supported

• individual and family recovery needs (such as home repairs, rebuilds, and furnishing) and case management and construction coordination
• vital equipment for the tornado damaged Shoal Creek, AL Volunteer Fire Department
• rebuilding and restoring infrastructure in Joplin, MO 
• unmet recovery needs (roofing repairs) and case management support
• Enhancing disaster preparedness through improved warning and safety measures

This is part of a strategic approach to tornado recovery that includes working with other funders and partners locally and statewide and supporting individual and family recovery.  With our partner organizations, we will continue to work together to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of survivors, needs that we expect to continue for months and perhaps years to come.