May is almost over & so far I have heard from 2 local organizations.  So…

a new page has been added!!

If you are looking for somewhere to volunteer, you are at the right place! The “Ways to Volunteer” page tells about other charities in Southern Illinois.  Now, if you are bored and  you are looking at my website, you can check that page out and maybe you will find something to cure your boredom!

Hello People!!!!

As you may have read in the last post, people in Southern Illinois are going through some tough times. The “Inland Hurricane” came through all of Southern Illinois and tore it up.  I realized, this is one of the biggest times of need for my community!

My mom and I were driving in the car when my grandpa called and said that the civic center was serving meals to people since hardly anybody has power. We turned around and went back.  We did not see anyone there so we went to the emergency shelter to see if they needed help.  We talked to Jason and Ed (who are Amazing volunteers!!)  They were going to serve meals  so we waited a little bit.  At 5 o’clock rolled around and people started coming in.

As we served meals, people started thanking us and saying “God Bless You!”  Only you can explain the feeling you get when you volunteer and people start to thank you like that.  It is the most amazing feeling in the world to me, and I’m sure you would feel the same way! So get out there and help the community!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Molly

For those who may not have heard our latest news, Southern Illinois experienced severe weather on Friday afternoon.   The storm has been called an inland hurricane or a mesocyclone.  Some are saying it was straight-line winds and others say it had to be a tornado.  The cause of the extensive damage was ultimately wind, which was reported as high as 106 miles per hour.

The area saw power lines snap in half.  Trees that had grown for decades were uprooted.  Numerous roofs were lifted from their building.  Many times, the twisted masses caused damage to surrounding buildings. 

As the storm passed and residents inspected the damage, one issue was obvious.  No one had power.  At the height of power outages, the numbers topped 70,000.  While the power companies are making progress, they announced yesterday that the city of Carbondale will not have power until Thursday.  Graduation ceremonies were cancelled and schools have been closed throughout the region. 

This disaster area reaches from Murphysboro through Carbondale onto Carterville and Crainville.  It continues through Herrin/Energy and Marion.   There is damage in West Frankfort and Harrisburg.  It seems that all of Route 13 has been affected.  By the grace of God, only one southern Illinois resident has died from this storm.  The fatality rate could have been much higher.  As we clean up our yards and rebuild our buildings, we should count our blessings and hug our families.

 Southern Illinoisans are great at taking care of each other.  River Radio has a combined effort with all of its stations to simulcast continues coverage of the Inland Hurricane 2009.  The Red Cross has been making and delivering hot meals to emergency shelters throughout the area.  The shelters that have popped up are run by caring neighbors that just want to help.   By caring for our neighbors, we will all survive.

May is here!

The month is off to a good start.  We had a garage sale this weekend and I was able to raise $32 for Pat’s Kids.  My aunt helped me make cookies & they were a big hit.

It is time for a new project.  This month, I am collecting information on local charities.  I am sending out letters to them.  When I get the information, I will post it here on my site.  You can see all of the ways that you can help!  I am starting with Carbondale, Marion, and Herrin.  There will be other towns but these are the ones that I want to start with.  If you have any suggestions, let me know!

Keep up the good work!!