Success StoryExtension Office Helps with Tornado Relief



Extension Office Helps with Tornado Relief

Author: Kelsey Chadwick

Planning Unit: Graves County CES

Major Program: Tornado Response and Recovery

Plan of Work: Improving our Individual and Community Environments

Outcome: Long-Term Outcome

On December 10, our community was forever changed by the onslaught of a deadly line of tornadoes that produced incalculable damage. In the face of such devastation, the Extension office was able to assist with many community needs, including donation management, service assistance, law enforcement support, hot meal delivery, and agricultural relief. While there are many success stories from this time period, one that particularly resonates is from the first Monday after the tornadoes. The Daviess County Cattleman's Association came to Mayfield and cooked over 1300 hot meals to deliver to residents in the wake of the storm. They brought outdoor grills with them that did not require electricity. Calloway and Graves County Extension staff and volunteers assisted in these efforts by coordinating a suitable location for cooking, taking orders from the community, packing orders in needed numbers, and delivering meals in areas still without power or water. One particular Extension volunteer group was delivering meals in an area on the outskirts of the tornado path in Mayfield, in some apartment complexes that had not received as much attention but were still without electricity or water. In the process of delivering meals, she identified a disabled woman in a wheelchair who was unable to leave her home and whose caregiver had not been able to reach her since the tornadoes. She had not eaten or gotten out of her wheelchair in three days. The Extension volunteers were able to call an ambulance for her so she could be cared for and her caregiver could be located. They were also able to give her food to meet her immediate physical needs. Because of the willingness of Extension volunteers to give of their time, talents, and resources in response to the tornado recovery, a life was saved and a woman kept from further harm.






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