In the hours and days after a disaster, the needs are obvious – people need food, water, shelter, clothing. In the months and years that follow, it’s not always as clear how to help. Thirteen months after the April 2014 tornadoes that blighted Vilonia and Mayflower, there’s still a lot of work to be done.
Arkansas Community Foundation is supporting long-term recovery efforts through our Faulkner County Disaster Recovery Fund. The Faulkner County Disaster Recovery Fund provides a way for companies and individuals to continue to give support of the long-term recovery of communities affected by the April 2014 tornadoes.
Recently $55,000 contributed to the fund by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation was divided evenly between theVilonia Disaster Recovery Alliance and the Mayflower Interfaith Partners Alliance.
Those two organizations received initial grants from the Community Foundation back in December of 2014. But as long-term recovery committees, they have the job of soldiering on in the wake of this disaster long after the news of the day and the attention of most of us has shifted away.
Both Vilonia Disaster Recovery Alliance and the Mayflower Interfaith Partners Alliance also have received FEMA grants, and their primary function is to help people rebuild their homes beyond the amount paid by homeowners insurance and FEMA grants.
In Vilonia and Mayflower, hundreds of donors and volunteers have helped these long-term recovery organizations repair and rebuild homes and businesses and restore the towns’ infrastructure to help life return to normal.
Across our state, when disaster strikes, Arkansans count on each other to pull together and restore our communities. We’re proud to be a partner in disaster recovery to help donors direct their charitable dollars to the people rebuilding our towns from the ground up.