Disaster grants help Mid-Missouri organizations provide hugs, guidance

Chip Webb, left, and Phil Freeman, right, present Dan Lester, of Catholic Charities, with a check Friday for more than $20,000 to help with disaster related assistance. Webb is chairman of the board of the United Way of Central Missouri, and Freeman serves as president of the agency's foundation.
Chip Webb, left, and Phil Freeman, right, present Dan Lester, of Catholic Charities, with a check Friday for more than $20,000 to help with disaster related assistance. Webb is chairman of the board of the United Way of Central Missouri, and Freeman serves as president of the agency's foundation.

Over the past six months, United Way of Central Missouri staff and volunteers have provided hugs and guidance to help those affected by summer flooding and a tornado that blew through Jefferson City in May, Chip Webb said.

Webb, the United Way board chairman and Ameren Missouri Central Division director, thanked the nonprofit organization and others Friday morning as he and United Way Foundation Board of Directors Chairman Phil Freeman announced recipients of $81,744 in disaster recovery grants at The Salvation Army of Jefferson City Center of Hope.

The United Way announced the availability of the grants, which are intended to support organizations' recovery program, capacity and operational needs, in early October. They are intended to allow the United Way to provide additional support to area agencies that have felt the effects of the dual disasters in their day-to-day work, whether or not they are among the 28 United Way partners.

A memory of the tornado Webb will never forget, he said, was on the day following the storm when he spoke with Carey Riley in front of the Riley family's severely damaged auto dealership.

They were standing amid Ameren Missouri employees trying to restore electricity to homes and businesses, and Riley talked about damage to the dealership and the vehicles the storm destroyed.

The Riley family had been up most of the night, trying to come to grips with the aftermath of the storm, Webb said. Riley told Webb the most important thing that had happened was the tornado hit in the middle of the night, when there was nobody in the dealership, and he was so grateful that's what happened, Webb said.

"I was touched that in the midst of all the chaos he and his family had been through, that he was able to truly find a reason to be grateful," Webb said. "It is that kind of resilience that makes this community special."

Over the past six months, the volume of support, donations, aid and volunteers has overwhelmed Webb emotionally, he said.

The local United Way took a leadership role in the recovery. It organized hundreds of volunteers for deployments, served as a location to collect and distribute supplies, and helped secure material donations to meet immediate needs.

The amount of monetary donations to address immediate and long-term needs that came into the United Way was awesome, Webb said.

The organization has received more than $341,000 in monetary donations and $700,000 in goods, he continued.

"We are honored and proud to remain the trusted source for monetary oversight and deployment and take that responsibility very seriously," he said.

Partner agencies and community groups mobilized quickly to meet disaster survivors' needs, said Ann Bax, president of the local United Way organization.

"Everybody stayed in their lanes," Bax said. "Yet we worked together in a really beautiful way."

Churches came forward. The Salvation Army, Boys & Girls Club of Jefferson City, Samaritan Center, Common Ground, The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri, Central Missouri Community Action and other organizations immediately began feeding, clothing and providing shelter for survivors.

"And again, providing that compassion," Bax said, "and that listening ear for those people that were impacted."

Days after the tornado, the United Way gave Compass Health a $20,000 grant to get the organization started in providing counseling for people the tornado affected.

The new grants are intended to help organizations that stepped up after the storm recoup some of their expenditures and continue their work.

Each year, depending on whether it meets its fundraising goals, the United Way tries to make community support grants available to address immediate, critical needs. Recipients need not be partner agencies. The nonprofit announced in February it had about $200,000 for those grants, based on money raised in 2018, and had decided on the recipients on May 21, the day before the tornado. It chose to continue with its commitment to deliver those grants, despite the tornado.

The United Way called on its foundation, developed in 2003 as a safety net. Annual campaign money goes right back into the community. But the foundation relies on separate fundraising and gave $200,000 to meet critical needs, allowing the organization to move ahead with the planned community support grants.

While five agencies received the disaster grants Friday, it is possible more grants will be announced early next year, Bax said.

Two United Way partners - Homemaker Health Care and The Salvation Army of Jefferson City - received grants Friday.

Homemaker Health Care provided medical supplies and equipment to disaster victims. The organization received $2,100 Friday to replace four pieces of durable medical equipment that were lost when the tornado damaged a client's home.

The Salvation Army - which immediately after the storm began providing food, shelter, comfort kits, water and spiritual care - received $10,000 to help it continue assisting survivors with replacement furniture, household goods and assistance with outstanding utilities.

Three agencies that are not United Way partners received grants Friday - Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri, Central Missouri Community Action and River City Habitat for Humanity.

Catholic Charities has been instrumental in helping the community begin recovery through its expertise in disaster response. It helped with organization of a Multi-Agency Resource Center after the storm and with organization of short- and long-term recovery committees.

The nonprofit also immediately began case management for disaster survivors. The United Way provided just less than $20,000 to the organization after the tornado and another $20,308 on Friday. The money will help with staffing and costs incurred as the new donation site managers.

CMCA received $29,336 to hire a disaster recovery coordinator who will work with disaster survivors not previously assisted through other community agencies. It will also provide mortgage and utility expenses for up to four months on a decreasing scale as the new coordinator helps the survivors to return to a new normal.

Habitat for Humanity received $20,000 to help fund a part-time assistant construction manager through 2020 and help the organization reach a goal of building four new houses (in addition to its annual four builds) as part of a "Blitz Build."

Habitat for Humanity started advertising to hire the new part-time assistant Friday, said Susan Cook-Williams, executive director of the local organization. For more information, contact Habitat for Humanity at 573-635-8439.

The new employee will have to have construction skills, be able to assess homes and lead volunteer crews on construction days.

It is estimated the Blitz Build of four homes will cost about $400,000. Habitat for Humanity has already begun fundraising for the projects and expects to announce opportunities to participate soon, she said.

"Now, with the disaster, we need a little more help," Cook-Williams said. "We're still formulating our Blitz Build plan, which will roll out in a couple of weeks."