Tag: Tornado relief

Posted on

Teaming up With AmeriCorps

When one my closest friends graduated college, she knew one thing for fact; that she wanted to give back to the community through service.  Her choice of vehicle for this endeavor was the AmeriCorps. Friday we got the chance to team up with one of the AmeriCorps teams here in Tuscaloosa.

Our assignment was to help the American Red Cross break down the last of the shelters from when the tornadoes came through.  This is a great thing because now we know that all of the people who have been displaced are now in a residence but unfortunately, it also meant that the volunteers from the Red Cross would be going home.  They are heading out when there is still so much work to do.  Thankfully FEMA and the AmeriCorps are still in town.

I am told that there are currently about ten teams of eight in Tuscaloosa at the moment:  Each of them doing something equally important to help out the community.   For those of you that are not familiar with AmeriCorps, here is a bit of the basics.  AmeriCorps is for adults 18-24 and it works well for people who are taking a break from school or have recently finished college.  In addition to gaining the satisfaction of helping others, full time AmeriCorps members receive tuition and student loan help.  Every year AmeriCorps offers over 75,000 opportunities to help out in different communities in the country so if you have the least bit of interest, then check out the AmeriCorps website. 

These additional pictures are of the American Red Cross center that was hit by the storm.  After we loaded the truck with all of the cots and bedding from the shelter, we then went to unload the truck to this office building that was still standing after a brutal hit from the April storms.

Posted on

Hurricane Creek

One of the first people that we met when we got to Tuscaloosa who wasn’t affiliated with the city clean up was Russell.  He has his hands full with a much different, yet equally important project; clean up of Hurricane Creek.  He invited us out there for a beer and conversation after a day of hard labor so we could see another side of what the tornadoes destruction did to the area.  It is mind blowing to know that within minutes, this entire forest was gone. 

I also added a video provided by John Wathen who is leading this clean up and fighting to make sure this area stays as natural as possible. I have placed the link to John Wathen’s blog here so you can get to know a little more about him.  He has been influential in the Waterkeeper Alliance, assisted greatly with the BP Oil Spill, and is currently keeping track of the coal in Alabama with his blog.  He is definitely a man that has all of our interests, including our planets, in mind.

The pictures here are what I took while we were down in the area.  Even though majority of the trees have been knocked down, you can still see saplings and new plants coming through quickly.  Despite the wreckage, this area is still beautiful and is so monumental to Tuscaloosa’s history, as well as the history of the Appalachian Mountains. There are tons of volunteer opportunities to help out John and Russell.  If you want to get out into the woods for a little while and save a remarkable piece of land, check out the Hurricane Creek Keepers website.

Posted on

First Assignment

For our first day, we were sent to the Phifer warehouse where the Salvation Army had set up shop. All donations sent to Tuscaloosa from all over the country got sent here where then volunteers will unload, seperate, repack and the make accesable so people who need the goods are able to come in and pick up what they need.  It is amazing to see the donations that arte sent from everyone all over the country used and being brought directly to the people who need them.

Posted on

Map of Destruction

Tracey walks us through the map that was at the volunteer center.  A total of six tornado cells swept through the area all carrying multiple tornadoes.  This video shows the ground it took over.  It really is shocking when you digest that these two main tornadoes swept right through the most populated part of the city.

Posted on

Arriving Into Tuscaloosa

It has been a great first day of volunteering.  We were at the warehouse where the Salvation Army is taking in all of the donated goods from all over the country, sorting through them and then redistributing them. I even had the chance to drive the forklift.  I will have video up in the morning from that impactful day. 

 Later today, we went to our new friend Russell’s project in Hurricane Creek.  One of the places of destruction was this area called Hurricane Creek.  Is is this beautiful natural habitat outside of Tuscaloosa and has been almost completely wiped out of it’s tree population.  I have pictures and will share more about that tomorrow also.  As for now, I will leave you with these pictures from when we first arrived into town yesterday.  There is still so much work to do.  Take a moment to recognize what it is in your life that you’re thankful for. 

Posted on

First Look at Tuscaloosa

Before we even arrived to Tuscaloosa, we could see the damage from the what had happened during the storms in late April of this year.  We need to make sure that as a nation, far away from this, that we remember that it does not just go away.  We are responsible for each other.

Proudly powered by WordPress