August 27th Was Amazing... What's Next?

The response to August 27th's “Columbia For Joplin” event was amazing! In just over a month’s time, our community came together to show their support to the people of Joplin by registering 700 people who left Columbia, Missouri at 4am on a Saturday morning in August to drive to Joplin, Missouri and lend their efforts to help those who were affected by the tornado in May.

If you were one of those 700: thank you!

Since the event, we have had a number of you indicate that you would be interested in continued eforts to assist the community of Joplin as the need persists.

For those of you looking for opportunities to help the Joplin area, we will be updating this site with information and links to organizations that are putting together assistance efforts, so that you may be aware of events being put together, and follow up with them independently:

City of Joplin - Tornado & Recovery/Rebuilding Information

State of Missouri - Joplin Tornado Information

AmeriCorps - Contacts in Missouri

Rebuild Joplin

Check back for links and news updates about organizations that are continuing the effort to assist the community of Joplin, Missouri.

What is “Columbia For Joplin”?

Columbia for Joplin began as a grassroots effort to gather as many people as possible from the Columbia area for a work day in Joplin on August 27, 2011. The event was organized by a group of Columbia-area Rotarians, but was open to all. 700 people from the community responded and traveled across the state to help fellow Missourians in working to rebuild their community.

Registered volunteers left from The Crossing, 3615 Southland Drive, at 4 AM on August 27th and drove caravan-style in 7 buses to Joplin, where were met by and given instructions from representatives of AmeriCorps, a not-for-profit organization coordinating volunteer efforts there. The work day lasted until a little past 4 p.m., at which time a very tired - but satisfied - group of volunteers returned to the Columbia area.

According to Emily McKittrick of the AmeriCorps St. Louis Emergency Response Team, much of the major clean-up is complete and relief workers in Joplin are transitioning their efforts to rebuilding the community. In the roughly two months since the tornado, more than 46,000 people from all over the country have volunteered to help in Joplin, but plenty of work remains.