Giving Update from the Joplin Missouri Disaster Relief Fund

Encouraging news came from Joplin last month as students headed back to school on schedule. It was certainly a welcome return to normalcy after one of the most deadly tornados in the nation’s history ravaged the town in May.

Immediately following the disaster, the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation created the Joplin Missouri Disaster Relief Fund to support the needs of those affected by the tornado. Donations poured in from all over the country, from large corporate foundations to kids’ lemonade stands and everywhere in between. We are pleased to report we’ve collected more than $600,000, all of which will directly benefit the residents of Joplin. In addition, we’ve been able to maximize our dollars through matching grants from other community foundations and national funders. Where’s the money going? After collaborating with city officials, local nonprofits and other community foundations in the region, we identified three areas of need at this time:

• Legal Services Many residents of Joplin are in need of legal assistance for a wide range of issues, such as assistance with FEMA claims, stopping contractor fraud and abuse, and clearing up property ownership issues, so the Joplin Missouri Disaster Relief Fund is giving a portion of its donations to Legal Aid of Western Missouri. With the money, Legal Aid will hire two attorneys who will work for the next two years in a satellite office in Joplin. They will help low-income residents overcome a variety of legal issues and, by doing so, facilitate their recovery from the disaster.
• Local Agency Support The Community Foundation of Southwest Missouri is currently reviewing grant applications from nonprofit organizations in the Joplin area that are assisting with tornado recovery efforts. Grants will range from $5,000 to $25,000, and the money will help local agencies keep up with the increased demand they’ve seen since May. The Joplin Missouri Disaster Relief Fund is giving a portion of its donations to support these grants.
• School District Funds The Joplin Missouri Disaster Relief Fund is also giving a portion of its donations to the Joplin school district to replace destroyed schools with modern learning environments and provide safe rooms for existing facilities.

The Community Foundation is pleased to provide support to Joplin residents, and fortunately donors across the country continue to give. One recent donation came from Harihar Subramanyam, a high school student from Holden, Mass. Tornados are rare in Massachusetts, but in July 2010 Harihar experienced two tornado warnings, for which he and his family were unprepared. Fortunately his family came though unscathed, but Harihar was inspired to create Tornado App, a mobile application that helps people prepare for severe weather emergencies. (The application is currently available for free for Windows Phone 7; iPhone and Android apps are coming soon.) The Tornado App won several awards at regional, state and international science fairs, and Harihar donated a portion of his prize money to the Joplin Missouri Disaster Relief Fund. While his application wasn’t ready in time to help Joplin residents prepare for the tornado, Harihar is pleased that he is still able to help those affected. 

We still have more giving to do, so stay tuned for more updates from the Joplin Missouri Disaster Relief Fund. Questions? Contact Jean-Paul Chaurand at 816-627-3403 or chaurand@gkccf.org.

Authored by: Leanne Breiby, Communications Manager