Rebuild Tuscaloosa

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
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<p>Thought I would start a thread about specific funds, plans, organizations, etc. that come to our attention during the rebuilding process.</p>

<p>I will start it off:</p>

<p>Just been told by my D who is volunteering at Calvary Baptist Church that the mayor has met with the churches, community leaders, etc. and addressed the short and long term plans that they have in place as of today. As a result, Calvary Baptist Church has set up a fund and all of the money will be used to take care of 25 designated families displaced from Rosedale Court. All of the money will be used to help these 25 families in the short term as well as the long term. She said everything from short term housing to furniture and dishes when long term housing is provided. </p>

<p>Her comment was, “Mom, most of the people like us have insurance, but these people have nothing left”. She was requesting that we let OOS people know that the best thing they can do now is donate money directly to one of these organizations, because 100% of the money will go to rebuilding Tuscaloosa.</p>

<p>I am sure that other organizations will have designated funds as well. Please post them as you hear of them.</p>

<p>I have to say that my daughter has been extremely self-absorbed in her own world this past 18 months and the new, energized sense of community service that I am seeing from her is encouraging. You can’t get this kind of training from a textbook!</p>

<p>Looking forward to seeing the opportunities that are there!</p>

<p>Roll Tide Roll!</p>

2

<p>I think there will be plenty of opportunities in the near future for these students to do things that they probably wouldn’t have had the opportunities to do.</p>

<p>We’ve passed out water/supplies, helped translate for Hispanic families, and helped people find some things that were salvageable in their destroyed homes. Just doing some laundry for some people has been greatly appreciated. Everyone wants some clean clothes to wear!</p>

<p>Younger son rescued several people right after The Tornadoes hit. One girl was “saved” when her mattress trapped her under wreckage. Son was able to rescue her, but he said that the mattress is what saved her from being squished.</p>

3

<p>Latest update from Mayor Maddox:</p>

<p>[Latest</a> update on Tuscaloosa from Mayor Maddox](<a href=“http://www.myfoxal.com/story/14556650/latest-update-on-tuscaloosa-from-mayor-maddox]Latest”>http://www.myfoxal.com/story/14556650/latest-update-on-tuscaloosa-from-mayor-maddox)</p>

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<p>Thank you for all of your efforts Peachtide, Peachtide’s D, M2CK, and M2CK’s sons. You are all a great example of the American spirit of helpfulness and caring. Stay safe and Roll Tide!!</p>

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<p>M2ck – WOW!!!</p>

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<p>Tuscaloosa’s Mayor Walt Maddox gave an update on the city’s fatalities, search and rescue efforts, and number of missing people in a press conference at noon on Monday, May 2. He said the** number of fatalities has risen to a total of 40 and that 340 people are still reported missing.** A total of 525 names of people thought to be missing have been cleared off the list. Maddox says the city’s goal is to begin releasing the names of those who are still missing and those who have been found every evening as the search and rescue teams do their work, then working from a new list each morning and “hopefully finding someone alive.”</p>

<p>Two teams of 60 people each are coming in from Louisiana, which will “vastly add to the efforts in urban search and rescue efforts,” Maddox said. Four cadaver teams are currently still in the area, searching for the missing among the rubble. They are being assisted by the city’s fire and rescue personnel.</p>

<p>The city has begun to issue building permits, which Maddox hailed as a “positive sign” in the recovery efforts. The city will add around 50 more inspectors to help survey damage and assist in the rebuilding process. </p>

<p>The number of homes and businesses destroyed in the tornadoes remains around 5,000, he said. There are still 9,691 homes without power.</p>

<p>The mayor also released the preliminary figures for the cost of removing debris from the Tuscaloosa area.** It could cost anywhere between $70 and $100 million to clear out all of the debris left behind from the tornadoes**, he said.</p>

<p>The state Emergency Management Agency will soon take over all volunteer services, and Maddox says those who are in place to help out are very experienced in dealing with the aftermath of natural disasters. The EMA team on the ground in Tuscaloosa worked during the recovery process for Hurricane Ivan as well as the Enterprise, Ala. tornado and have “vast experience” in organizing volunteers.</p>

<p>Soon there will be a more centralized place for people to register to volunteer in the cleanup efforts. Maddox that in the near future, volunteers will need to have credentials to ensure that the volunteer work coordinates with other recovery efforts going on around the city. The credentials will help workers in the field be more effective and also stay safe. </p>

<p>Maddox encouraged anyone who was affected by the storms to register with FEMA by calling 1-800-621-FEMA in order to start the process necessary to qualify for federal aid. He added that the water condition in the city continues to improve and said the current testing results show that the city will likely lift the boil water advisory in the coming hours.</p>

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<p>Fund set up by Coach Anthony Grant and his wife, Chris.</p>

<p>[Anthony</a> and Chris Helping to Rebuild Alabama - Home](<a href=“HugeDomains.com”>http://www.sweethomefund.com/)</p>

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<p>Tuscaloosa Disaster Relief Fund</p>

<p>[url=&lt;a href=“HugeDomains.com”&gt;http://www.givetuscaloosa.com/]GiveTuscaloosa.com[/url</a>]</p>

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<p>Beginning Monday, St. Francis Catholic Church will become a drop-off site for donations of non-perishable food, toiletries, clothing, shoes, baby items, etc etc. The parish hall will be the place to bring donations.</p>

<p>We will also be accepting monetary donations - make checks payable to “St. Francis Tornado Relief”. Please pass this info on to your parents or anyone wishing to donate. All donations will be given to Red Cross and other local distribution orgs. </p>

<p>We will need volunteers to sort, package and distribute items that are brought to St Francis. Please let me know if you are in Tuscaloosa and wish to help with this. I can also find other places - areas that you can volunteer. I will begin working on this tomorrow morning when I get to work and get all the info together.</p>

<p>If you are not still in T-town, please help us by continuing to pray for our people and our city. </p>

<p>Susan Nelms</p>

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<p>I had read that they were using infrared technology and cadaver dogs to locate bodies. Has that effort been concluded such that there is confidence that these 340 people are not buried under debris?</p>

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<p>We are driving down later this week to pack up. Does anyone know what supplies are still most needed, or would it be best to send a monetary donation?
Also - where can we give blood? D knows where the permanent site is, but I’m wondering if there are mobile units set up for donations near campus?</p>

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<p>timeflew - check with your local blood bank. I saw somewhere (on Twitter, I think) that you can give blood in other cities/states and designate it for Tuscaloosa.</p>

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<p>Yes, D looked into it but Red Cross doesn’t have a center in our area - Lifeblood operates in our city and we weren’t clear on if they have a cooperative system. I will look in to that.
Also, D really wants to give IN Tuscaloosa if they are having a drive.</p>

14

<p>Message from Dr. Witt</p>

<p>To: UA Alumni and Friends</p>

<p>The University of Alabama expresses its deepest sympathies to those in the Tuscaloosa community who have lost loved ones. We especially mourn the loss of members of the UA family. We recognize and appreciate the efforts of the first responders and everyone who has worked so tirelessly to provide aid and assistance to those impacted by the storm. The University will continue to partner with the city and county of Tuscaloosa, as we work together to meet the immediate needs of our students, faculty and staff, as well as our friends and neighbors in the community.</p>

<p>Many of you have asked for additional ways you can help. To make a contribution, click on UA Acts of Kindness Fund, or mail your donation to The University of Alabama, Box 870101, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487. Contributions will be used to help UA students, faculty and staff who need assistance as a result of storm damage.</p>

<p>The University will continue to provide resources as additional needs become known. We will continue to move forward as a family.</p>

<p>Robert Witt
President, The University of Alabama</p>

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<p>I subscribed to the UA parent twitter prior to the tornado, after, I added about 3 more to the 125+ people/groups I follow - Jim Spann, Crimson White, etc. Half my twitter feed is now Ttown or AL updates- it’s incredible the outpouring of help & resources- “We’ve got this, where can I bring it” or “we need this, deliver here…”. I’m sure it’s not nearly enough though, I’m very humbled by everyones ingenuity & generosity. So, what can we do? Is the best thing for us oos-ers to do is donate to the Act of Kindness Fund? </p>

<p>I’m not working, I could come down for a few days in between interviews, but I’m getting the feeling they have enough volunteers, they need resources? Is that true? I wasn’t planning on going down for BB or move in with S due to the expense, but I feel like I should be doing something.</p>

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<p>I am a huge fan of Convoy of Hope…if you want to help… make a donation to them. They showed up again today with more trucks full of supplies , in the rain, people cheered. It takes $6000 to fill a truck. they have been a God send.
Their website is
[url=&lt;a href=“http://www.convoyofhope.org/go/ua]Redirecting...[/url”&gt;http://www.convoyofhope.org/go/ua]Redirecting…[/url</a>] .
You can also check out pics from their deliveries today on the face book page "Tuscaloosa Tornado: What can you do?</p>

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<p>Thanks for the link, ahpimom. I saw that they are in Cullman. I know there are a lot of kids from Cullman at Bama, as well as other hard hit areas besides Tuscaloosa. Hope with all the relief efforts heading that way, everyone will get some help.</p>

<p>Also, I saw something about a possible benefit concert. Hope to hear any info about that as it comes available.</p>

18

<p>My neighbor informed me today that her nephew (Junior at Indiana Wesleyan University) headed to Tuscaloosa this morning with a car load of supplies to meet up with the Convoy of Hope folks. We live in Indiana and there’s been great support from our area. Such a blessing to see how folks from near and far are banning together to help the victims of Alabama.
I second aphimommy that Convoy of Hope is a very organized and successful organization.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the link aphimommy, it sounds like a great organization.</p>

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<p>One of the most heartwrenching stories I saw on msnbc.com today, was a young girl looking for her prom dress & shoes in the rubble. Her prom is this weekend. As a parent of a senior getting ready for prom, this really touched me. Someone called the reporter to tell her that he would buy her a new dress at a nearby store on the video. I would have had to hunt the reporter down and find one myself. There are so many worse situations, loss of life, homes, etc but this was just sad.</p>