Jefferson City relief effort secures additional space
JEFFERSON CITY – It is now safe to volunteer and help clean-up efforts in Jefferson City. Multiple donations of water, food, gloves and gift cards are being made daily, but space is limited.
Now, a new donation sight is set to open on Thursday morning at the Capitol West Christian Church.
The group's president, Ann Bax said, the community response has been moving.
“Immediately we had people calling wanting to organize work groups and get out there and help, and that’s what I love about our community, but we had to make sure it was safe," Bax said.
There have been over 600 volunteers since Saturday already working with United Way and AmeriCorps to help with clean-up efforts.
Ricky Mendez, a volunteer, said, “It was amazing all the people there that were helping just to help.”
He said they were mostly removing downed trees from residential areas. Some branches took multiple people to carry.
Kailyn Jordan, a worker for AmeriCorps, said organizers asked volunteers if they or anyone they knew were personally affected by the disaster.
Almost 90% said no.
“It’s complete strangers coming out to help the community in this small pocket of neighborhoods that were almost completely devastated,” she said.
United Way is currently in the temporary donation area but it is working with community partners to establish a larger donation site.
Bax said, “As you can see we have had a tremendous outpouring of donations but we need more room.”
Anyone that wants to make donations can bring them to Capitol West Christian Church starting Thursday morning.