More than 40 victims of the devastating tornadoes in rural western Kentucky have been receiving direct financial help from The Jewish Federation of Volusia and Flagler Counties in Florida.
An initial fundraising appeal netted $11,000, which provided 22 people with $500 each. After more donations were received, another $10,000 went out Jan. 31 to give 20 more people $500 each. That’s an overall total of $21,000.
Marvin Miller, Jewish Federation president, wanted to send every donated dollar to the victims, taking nothing for administrative charges.
To reach people directly, Mr. Miller tried calling from Florida to churches in Mayfield but didn’t make a contact, likely because of all the damage, he said. But he had more luck when he reached out to Graves County Sheriff Jon Hayden.
“I knew the sheriff would know where everybody was, because he was probably chasing around trying to find everybody,” Mr. Miller said.
Hayden provided a list of 22 names for the first wave of donations, and 20 additional names for the second batch for a total of 42 people.
Reading through the lists reveals the heartbreak and damage the tornado caused.
One name on the lists recorded the death of a husband, another told of the death of a child. Most of the 42 people on the two lists lost their homes; two others lost a business. One woman was trapped in the candle factory that was destroyed when the tornado hit.
Sheriff Hayden distributed the $500 to each of the 22 people on the first list and will repeat that task for the second group of 20.
“People lost their homes and their vehicles,” Hayden said. “A lot of businesses were destroyed, which put a lot of people out of work.”
“They’ve been very appreciative,” Hayden said of the recipients. “We’re appreciative of folks down in Florida concerned enough to do that.”
Some of the recipients wrote letters of appreciation to the Jewish Federation.
“Thank you so much for your very kind thoughts and actions,” a woman from Mayfield wrote. She added, “It is through the kindness of others that we are able to see God in action.”
Another Mayfield woman penned a longhand letter, saying, “I received your donation and want you to know how much this is appreciated. The $500 will certainly be put to good use as I re-build. Your generosity will never be forgotten. I’m 72 years old and never imagined or planned on starting over with building my home, but God blessed me in so many ways in all this disaster.”
Mr. Miller said the Jewish Federation of Volusia and Flagler Counties has reached out previously to provide help in times of disaster, including to Haiti and the Gulf states.
“They’re nice, God-fearing people in a country town like Mayfield,” he said. “I don’t even know if there’s one Jewish family up there. That doesn’t matter.”
The Jewish Federation of Volusia and Flagler celebrated a successful fundraiser, raising $21,000 for vicitims of tornadoes in Kentucky. From left are Debbie Buckwald, Connie Johnson, Federal President Marvin Miller, Federation Executive Assistant Janice Sumner, executive assistant and Sandra Martin. Ms. Buckwald, Ms. Johnson and Ms. Martin are volunteers.
Photo by John Bozzo
On the Net:
Click here to read the original article
