The Emporia Gazette

July 5, 2008

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Some area Good Samaritans have returned from Greensburg, others are preparing to go and some are collecting funds to be used after the Good Samaritans are gone.

Church collecting

Emporian Gail Hancock, who began an early effort to collect needed items for Greensburg, has filled his vehicles and suggested that other items be taken to First Congregational Church, which is filling a truck provided by Thomas Transfer.

The truck will be in the Flinthills Mall parking lot south of the mall starting Saturday. People can bring goods between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday. The truck will leave for Greensburg on Wednesday.

The church is working with the Kansas Food Bank, which will distribute the goods. For a list of items, click here.

“The main thing right now is to make sure no one self-deploys,” said Chad Poland, pastor. “There’s still some safety concerns.”

Broadcasters from radio station KVOE will be present for the Saturday kickoff to help mobilize the community. These items have been requested: cleaning supplies, personal-care items, snack food, trash bags, work gloves, bottled water, No. 10 cans of food, non-perishable foods, plastic tubs for salvaging belongings.

Poland added that the food bank does not want anyone to send clothing or furniture yet.

Volunteers to help load the truck can call the church, 342-6854.

In addition, Emporia State University students have begun a fund raiser to help rebuild Greensburg’s high school. Donations may be left in plastic buckets stationed around the ESU Memorial Union.

School effort

Jana Phillips of Lowther North Intermediate School is coordinating a “Top the Trailer” drive to take a variety of foods and merchandise to the tornado victims.

“Mother Nature can destroy property and lives, but it also brings us together as a whole to provide support to those communities in need,” a project poster stated.

Examples of items to be collected, in addition to financial donations, are: new undergarments, clothing, hygiene products, non-perishable foods, cleaning supplies, toys, cosmetic products, shoes, reading material, appliances, furniture, pet supplies, paper, pens, crayons and markers, clocks and batteries.

Donations may be dropped off at LNIS or participating schools. The trailer will stop in Emporia on May 18 between 4 and 8 p.m. at the school and at Wal-Mart.

United Way

The United Way of the Flint Hills has been asked to join in a statewide effort, “Green for Greensburg,” at the request of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

Local executive director Duane Dreiling said that the role of United Way is helping in long-term recovery and rebuilding, which will allow the Red Cross and Salvation Army to help with immediate needs.

“Through this fund, the types of services that will be provided in that long-term recovery are such things as counseling, medical services, vouchers for rent and utility assistance and other things that are identified by the community as needs,” Dreiling said.

The United Way of the Plains in Wichita will coordinate the statewide drive. No administration fee will be charged.

“One hundred percent of each gift will go to direct disaster recovery assistance,” Dreiling said.

Checks payable to the “Green for Greensburg” fund can be turned in to the local United Way office or sent to the United Way of the Plains, 245 N. Water, Wichita KS 67202. More information may be had by calling Dreiling at 342-7564.

Other efforts include:

• On Thursday, most Pizza Huts statewide will donate 20 percent of their profits to the United Way Greensburg’s fund raiser, according to information from the International Pizza Hut Franchise holders Association. Emporia Pizza Huts will join in the effort.

• Dillon stores are encouraging customers to “round up” as part of a fundraising effort for Greensburg. “We’re doing a round-up program where customers can round up their order and all those proceeds go to the Greensburg Relief Fund,” said local Dillon manager Dave Kindhart. “We’re doing it statewide.” Larger donations also will be accepted.

Anyone else organizing a relief effort is invited to call The Gazette at 342-4805 or send an e-mail to newsroom@emporiagazette.com.

A team from Bruff’s Bar and Grill returned Tuesday after taking a load of food to Greensburg. Employees and patrons of the business spent much of Monday evening assembling 1,000 sandwiches to distribute to displaced residents and the people who are helping them. The effort was organized by Gary Burgess Jr., Bruff’s owner, with some contributions from Price Chopper, Fanestil Meats, Earth Grain breads, Dolly Madison, Wal-Mart, and Mark Shook of Waters Tru-Value Hardware.

“He called me Monday night and said, ‘Hey, do you want to go to Greensburg?’” said Daryl Polzin, one of the assembly-line sandwich makers who traveled to Kiowa County.

Burgess used his refrigerated reefer truck and a large pickup to haul the sandwiches, water, chips and apples, oranges and bananas to Greensburg. Others who accompanied the two were Gary Burgess Sr., Doug White and three Bruff’s employees who are students at Emporia State University.

The younger Burgess had made arrangements with the American Red Cross here to have a contact that could lead them into the devastated area.

“There’s a roadblock once you get close to town,” Polzin said. “So he got us in and led us up to basically where they had kind of a central camp location for FEMA and Red Cross.”

The group set up tables and began handing out food; later, they joined with a Heart-to-Heart worker and took food around the streets in a Gator, a small vehicle similar to a golf cart with a truck-type bed.

“They were very appreciative,” Polzin said.

Polzin said they met one woman who had lost everything except some clothes, and she had given some of those to neighbors.

“She’d lost everything, but still she was sharing,” he said.

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