We’re Here… Bowling Green, the crews picked up debris, helped homeowners salvage belongings, tarped roofs, and when homes could not be saved, helped with demolition. One local volunteer recounted that, upon arriving at a clean-up site, she asked a team leader what was she needed to do. The team leader told her to clean up the yard as if it were her own. She raked until there were no limbs left, no wind-torn leaves on the ground, no pieces of other structures and other homes torn asunder. And then she and the crew moved to the next home. For the people of Western Kentucky, the outpouring from the organization was overwhelming, but for Jeff and Samaritan’s Purse, it was all in a day’s work. “We had a lot of people come in a short period of time because they wanted to serve and wanted to help people,” he says. “It’s a concrete way they can come alongside folks and help clean up and to care for some of these folks at the most difficult times in their lives.” In the weeks after the tornado, the group blessed more than 900 homeowners with some level of assistance. Their work affected everyone they worked with, especially local leaders who were also working to pick up the pieces of their ravaged towns and city. “Personally, I have been so inspired working with the leaders of Samaritan’s Purse that I hope I can volunteer with them someday responding to another county’s disaster,” says Jesse Perry, Graves County Judge Executive. “I have seen, firsthand, the impact that they can have in an area. We have been so blessed by having them here.” And when it seemed like most of the initial crisis aid had packed up and headed to another disaster, when most of the debris had been removed, Samaritan’s Purse could have left as well. But, they did something surprising. They announced that, instead of leaving, they planned to stay. The group purchased property in Mayfield and announced that Western Kentucky would benefit from its Rebuild program, an opportunity for those impacted to receive a myriad of aid options geared at helping them to, well, rebuild their lives. Jeff says the group has a goal of rebuilding or repairing more than 200 homes all along the tornado’s path. They are investing 25 full-time employees to the efforts, from skilled carpenters and foremen to support staff members. They’ll continue welcoming volunteers to help get homes built and repaired as quickly as possible, he says. For homes that are too far from the Mayfield headquarters, homeowners can apply and benefit from a building materials assistance program, which funds all levels of building assistance, from materials even up to contractor fees. For anyone impacted by the tornado, the group also will provide furniture assistance, which Jeff calls a “robust program.” 70 MAY 2022 | PROMOTING EVENTS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE
