Quote:
Originally Posted by luv
Friend volunteered at one of the shelters. She said that out of everyone she checked in (volunteers) from all over the US, only three were from Joplin. And driving by the golf course, it was full, along with ladies coming out of boutiques and such. She said that she realized that not everyone suffered loss from the destruction, but she was just surprised at how many from Joplin weren't helping.
Also, a couple of funny things she saw:
A chair, an old tv on an old tv stand, a computer monitor, and a keyboard, all broken, were set up with a sign over it that said LIVE FREE.
Driving through a residential area, she saw a hand made sign that said: HOUSE FOR SALE: AS IS.
She saw one subdivision sign that said something like : HEY GAWKERS, JUST REMEMBER THAT THESE ARE PEOPLE'S HOMES AND LIVES.
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We were driving south on Schifferdecker to go back to the cabin and shower on Saturday before our 2nd shift and noticed a ton of people out sunbathing/partying at a little "lake" SW of Joplin. This was the 2nd worst tornado since 1953 and this is how they address it? There were easily 750 people out there, if not more.
Also saw: "For sale by owner, inquire out front" & "No littering"
You make a great point that I hadn't realized until now. The only people I met from Joplin who were helping were those who were directly impacted. I met people from all over(Wisconsin, South Dakota, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, and one guy from New Mexico.
I found it odd that some people were working hard to restore order to their homes while others did little if anything to clean up. I even saw signs out front to stay away as it was private property. I respect that, but it's free help.
The owners of the Subway restaurants in SE Kansas got together and brought sandwiches out to us while we were working and I thought it was an awesome thing to do. My only complaint was that a guy giving away pulled pork sandwiches approached us about 10 minutes after I had finished my sandwich. Timing is everything.
One other thing if any of you volunteer. According to the Americorps folks, if you go to MSSU and register, then all of the hours you work will be reimbursed by FEMA to the City of Joplin. If you use a chainsaw, bobcat, or other tools, that's reflected in a different rate. There were just as many volunteers who went directly to the affected areas as there were people who registered. According to the figures I saw, if those folks had registered, that would have been a significant check payable to Joplin.