Helping Our Friends in Joplin

The EF5 Tornado that demolished hundreds of homes and businesses has weighed heavy on our hearts at Windows by Jeff. We decided to help in a small way by collecting cleaning supplies, storage tubs, food, toiletries, and clothing to take to the people digging out from the wreckage.We parked out huge box truck in front of the store and made a couple of signs requesting donations. We also used FaceBook to get the word out, and Ken recruited the help of his running club and the donations rolled in. Saturday morning, Jeff and ken made the trek north to Joplin. The damage to the city was far worse than we imagined. Pictures do not accurately show the utter devastation. Jeff and Ken stopped by a rep from Four States, a company that handles ThermaTru doors. All had lost his home, and we wanted to help him in any way we could. Al's house was not completely leveled, but most of the roof was gone, and the walls were knocked so far out of plumb that it was a total loss.

Several square miles in just north of here looked like it had been mowed down by a giant brush hog. It's a cliche to say it looked like a bomb zone, but it is really hard to describe it.


We made our delivery to the VFW. They were very organized and had plenty of volunteers to help us unload.These folks were genuinely glad to have all we brought, and we are confident all of what we brought will be put to good use.The volunteers immediately sorted the the donated goods and placed it on tables for distribution. Joplin will need plenty of help in the coming weeks and months. Continued donations of money and relief items will be needed, as well as cash donations and manual labor. We are open to another endeavor, possibly volunteering in some of the cleanup on a future weekend.

To all who helped us in this endeavor, Thank you so much. The folks in Joplin are extremely grateful.