The evening of May 22, 2011 forever changed the lives of the people of Joplin, Missouri. Perhaps the worst tornadic storm ever recorded in U.S. history, the devastating tornado ravaged the town - but not the spirit - of our neighbors in Joplin.
Within hours of the disaster, Heart of Missouri United Way Board member, Brent Beshore of Pure Marketing, established the “Joplin, MO Tornado Recovery” Facebook page and the recovery plan was set in motion. There was no question. When asked if Heart of Missouri United Way would help, the immediate answer was, “YES; it’s the right thing to do.” In so doing, we made a commitment that no administrative fees would be incurred - 100% of all proceeds would go directly to Joplin.
In partnership with Beshore, KOMU-TV8 organized a telethon at the Museao building and the KOMU studios in the span of four days. The overwhelming support from not only the state of Missouri, but from across the U.S. and around the world, was awe-inspiring. To date, more than $1.7 million has been donated to our United for Joplin recovery fund.
Working with the United Way in Joplin, we assembled an Investment Review Team comprised of local Joplin citizens to get the funds flowing for those most in need. RebuildJoplin.org has continued the recovery effort by connecting people and community organizations.
Heart of Missouri United Way is committed to exploring new ways of doing non-profit relief work in support of our mid-Missouri communities. It will take all of us working together - non-profit and for-profit organizations - to make a lasting change.
When contributing to the Joplin Relief Fund, your dollars are going directly to the people of Joplin with no overhead taken by Heart of Missouri United Way. 100% of your contribution will help with the rebuilding of their community.
Thank you for helping our neighbors in Joplin!
If you would prefer to send a check, please make it payable to "Heart of Missouri United Way," indicate "Joplin Tornado Relief" on the memo line, and mail it to Heart of Missouri United Way, 1700 East Pointe Dr., Suite 201, Columbia, MO 65201.
