Mayfield, Kentucky, has become the symbol of the devastating storms that swept through the south and midwest Friday night. One hundred eleven miles away, Poplar Bluff residents gathered donations of coats, blankets and more for relief efforts through Missouri charity Footsteps Medical Missions.
United Gospel Rescue Mission
Cars kept pulling up to the freight truck outside the United Gospel Rescue Mission Thrift Store Monday, unloading coats, clothes, food, water, baby supplies, pet chow and even toys. One longtime volunteer and veteran nicknamed Doc said by 1 p.m. he had helped load 50-60 donations.
People kept coming in, drawn by announcements on local radio and Facebook.
“Social media is the greatest thing ever to get the word out for the need to be met,” said Greg Gilberto, pastor of Northpoint Nazarene Church.
Doc said footage of the disaster and its aftermath reminded him of Hurricane Andrew hitting Florida in 1992.
“It just brought back nightmares,” he said.
UGRM accepted donations until 5 p.m. and sent the truck off the next morning with UGRM executive director Greg Kirk behind the wheel.
Poplar Bluff’s rapid response to the relief efforts shows how eager everyone was to help the Mayfield survivors, but Gilberto explained blindly springing into action could actually hinder survivors and volunteers. They first had to coordinate with UGRM and Footsteps Medical Missions to find out what was really needed.
“We waited to hear what they needed, cause you don’t know how to help. You want to help but you don’t know what to help,” he said, adding he has seen surplus donations of unneeded items become burdensome in previous disasters.
The stream of donations included a van load of supplies from Recycling Grace Women’s Center. Compassion motivated staffer Mitzi Moss and several Recycling Grace members to help.
“It was heartbreaking,” Moss said of the disaster footage. “I can’t imagine what people are going through now.”
Another donor, Sharon Haley, later echoed that sentiment as she and her grandson unloaded packages of toilet paper and food. Identifying with the survivors inspired her generosity.
“If it would’ve been me, I would want the same thing,” she said.
Gilberto was overjoyed by the volume of donations they received.
“This is Poplar Bluff at its best right here,” he said.
Fellowship General Baptist Church
Devona Gibbs, who attends Fellowship General Baptist Church and has volunteered with Footsteps Medical Mission, organized a donation drop-off at the same time Gilberto did.
“I heard Sunday that there was no drop-off point in Poplar Bluff, so I started talking to people in church to get permission to collect here and then about the same time I heard that they (Footsteps Medical Missions) got in contact with the Rescue Mission,” she explained.
Donations of money, coats, and heaters rolled into the church from noon-3 p.m. yesterday, and were taken to UGRM at the end of the day. The monetary donations, which surpassed $2,500, went straight to Footsteps Medical Missions for their relief efforts on site.
Gibbs estimated about 75% of the donors she saw were church members. Earlier this year, Fellowship taught a series on being the local hands and feet of Christ. The generosity she saw felt like a continuation of that.
Gibbs and donors agreed they were hit hard by the stories of the victims and survivors.
“We just feel so bad about everything that happened in Kentucky,” said Olivia Crites, who donated several bags of blankets. “...And I’m so grateful, because this storm went right around us.”
A disaster this close to Christmas is doubly tragic, Gibbs said, but she believes God’s presence in the midst of peoples’ suffering is the true meaning behind Christmas.
“God is in the midst of this, he’s not going to leave them out. And that’s what Christmas is about,” she said.