ONE STATE. ONE SPIRIT. ONE MIZZOU.
To MU Faculty, Staff and Students:
We all have been shocked and saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the tornado that struck Joplin on Sunday. Our hearts go out to our fellow Missourians as they seek to recover from this terrible destruction. Please let me share various university efforts with you.
MU is partnering with the Heart of Missouri United Way to raise funds for relief. The university is producing tornado relief T-shirts — One State. One Spirit. One Mizzou. — with all proceeds from each shirt sale ($14.95 each) going to support the United Way’s United for Joplin campaign. Shirts are being sold online at mutigers.com and will be available Thursday afternoon at the Memorial Stadium Tiger Team Store and University Bookstore in the MU Student Center.
Other ways to assist the United for Joplin relief efforts include texting the word JOPLIN to 864833. That will trigger a $10 donation, which will be added to the sender’s cell phone bill. The United Way is waiving all administrative fees and will cover all online and text-to-give donation processing fees. One hundred percent of donors’ dollars go to Joplin. More information regarding donations and ways to volunteer are available at uwheartmo.org.
KOMU 8, Heart of Missouri United Way and the Museao Companies will sponsor a fundraising telethon Thursday, May 26, from 7 to 8 p.m. with Sarah Hill as host. KOMU will go live with newscasts at 5 and 6 p.m. from the Museao Building, 3500 Buttonwood Dr., Columbia, Mo. The public is invited to attend.
In conjunction with the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri, MU Health Care has launched a food drive to assist relief efforts. Locations (barrels for non-perishable items) include Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, Missouri Orthopaedic Institute, Missouri Psychiatric Center, University Hospital, Women’s and Children’s Hospital and Quarterdeck. In addition, the American Red Cross is sponsoring blood drives this Friday, May 27, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Conference Center at Women’s and Children’s Hospital and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in University Hospital’s lobby. MU Health Care sent two ambulances with medical crews to Joplin Sunday night.
MU Extension, as part of the Governor’s Disaster Recovery Partnership, is working with other organizations to assist in facilitation and coordination of recovery efforts. The southwest regional Community Emergency Management Program (CEMP) team is coordinating extension regional response activities using websites, email and social media to disseminate news, articles and other educational materials to communities, businesses, families and farms to aid in the recovery.
The MU Center for Family Policy is collecting supplies for infants, toddlers and preschoolers at this collection location: Center for Family Policy & Research, 1400 Rock Quarry Rd., Entrance 6, Columbia. Suggested items are listed on their website.
Students from the Shelter Club in the College of Veterinary Medicine are collecting supplies for the Joplin Humane Society. Check their Facebook page for items and drop-off sites.
If any of you have additional information about MU-based relief efforts, please respond to this email. Thank you so much.
Brady J. Deaton
