Businesses, charities rally to help tornado victims
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Businesses and charities around Missouri are coming together to help people in the South and Midwest affected by tornadoes on Friday.
Schnucks Markets Inc. said Monday that Schnucks customers can round their purchase to the nearest dollar through Sunday. All of the donations will go toward the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.
"But we go a step further than that...you can round even more if you choose," the director of Community Engagement at Schnucks Markets, Schron Jackson, said.
Jackson says there is plenty of time left for people to come out grab a few groceries and donate to victims of the tornado.
"We help people in need. It's something that we've done for almost more than 80 years. So today we're doing what we've always done and that's showing up for the communities that need us the most," Jackson said.
Hy-Vee Markets also had more than three dozen workers leave for Kentucky and Tennessee to give out water and breakfast.
The giving doesn't stop here. The Red Cross is offering shelter, food and clothing to people affected by the tornadoes, along with mental health and spiritual care assistance.
Over the weekend the Salvation Army delivered drinks and snacks to first responders and utility workers at the disaster site.
United Way a non-profit organization is also lending a helping hand. The organization is currently working on a website where people can donate to victims of the Tornado.
Ann Bax with United Way said, "The best way to help is through financial donations because um the needs are varied and um those organizations with boots on the ground um they're in those locations. They know what the needs are and they can take those financial dollars and stretch them to the greatest of their abilities to help those disaster survivors."
In the past, United Way received more than $250,000 in donations and they are hoping for the same success this year.
"It will break your heart to see the peoples who live are devastated but it is so heartwarming to see how the community and then again the people all over the nation... probably the world will come together to help," Bax said.
Severe storms hit extreme southeast Missouri and the Defiance area in St. Charles County near St. Louis. One person died in the Defiance tornado. A tornado hit an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Ill., as well. And scores are dead after the storm system devastated parts of Kentucky.
Link to donate to American Red Cross Disaster Funds.
