We have undertaken – as many have - the privileged task of assisting our fellow citizens in the supply of needed items to make their lives a little easier given the recent destruction that has befallen our City of Joplin. We have converted a warehouse building and are taking in numerous shipments of supplies from all over the Midwest including distant cities such as Sullivan, Mo, Quincy, IL and Tulsa, OK. We are then distributing those supplies to within the disaster area via medical personnel and those directly working within the affected area. We are also welcoming in the victims and dispersing supplies directly to them. Lastly, we are working with the local shelter centers and other collection centers in moving supplies to where they are needed. Many have asked what they could do to help. If you are looking to make monetary donations you may do that directly through the Red Cross. We are not taking any such donations – it would not be proper to do so. If you are willing to make supply donations we are receiving high demand for Gatorade, first aid medical supplies, basic toiletries, baby care items such as diapers, wipes and infant clothing. Clothing is always a concern and many items of that are coming in. All we ask in that situation is that they are sorted and organized by sex and size so that we may disperse them quickly – you can imagine how much time it would take to sort through mountains of clothing to find a large shirt – and while we have volunteers willing to do the work our primary goal is for quick distribution to those in need. Food items are needed but they need to be items that do not need to be prepared or require a can opener. Such items would include snack type foods, fruit cups, beef jerky, meat sticks, crackers, pull top Vienna sausage cans, etc. Any items that are in easily opened packages and do not require any type of preparation or refrigeration. That way those that need them can eat them immediately and continue on. The last category of needs is for those working. Things like gloves to protect their hands as they sort through the mess. This will be an ongoing process and will be continued for many, many weeks I presume. As the day’s pass we will be posting thanks to all those who are bringing these much needed supplies to our residents, volunteers and other personnel who are working through this tragedy. If you have any questions you may e-mail me. As an aside to this, our facility and employees were unaffected by the storms and we are running as normal for your fireworks needs. Thank you Steve Houser ...Read More |