When Tuscaloosa was hit by the April 27 tornado, Alabama citizens came from all over the state to not only lend a hand in the city’s relief, but also make sure the city came back to life. On Jan. 23, another tornado ran through Jefferson County, and Tuscaloosa remembered the debt it owed to those who came to its service.
After an entire summer working with chainsaws and heavy-duty machinery to clean up Tuscaloosa, numerous volunteers and organizations headed to Jefferson County to put their experience to good use.
“With everyone who came down to help us, we were compelled to help them,” said Jordan Barnes, a volunteer with the Christian Service Mission. “When you have the tools and the experience and the heart to help, it would be wrong not to go. When we got there we ran into some of the same people who helped us clean up in Tuscaloosa last April. A lot of these people weren’t from Tuscaloosa or even Birmingham. They just knew that they were needed and came with no questions asked.”
In addition to the Christian Service Mission, organizations like the Tuscaloosa Church of the Highlands, the Tuscaloosa Red Cross, Calvary Church and many others made the 45-minute drive from Tuscaloosa to show Jefferson County they had their support.
“We all know we had help from across the country when we needed it the most, so I hate to see people shrug this tornado off just because it wasn’t the size of the April 27 tornado,” Barnes said. “Some people lost their homes. And some people lost little things that may not seem important to you, but they were meaningful to them. I think we need to help in whatever capacity we can. I think we need to raise more awareness in Tuscaloosa to get out there and help. It was a great thing seeing so many students and faculty helping, but I think we can still do more.”
In addition to the volunteers heading to and from Jefferson County, there have been several groups organizing supply drives in Tuscaloosa with hopes of giving back to those who were there in some of the town’s darkest days.
One such drive happened on Jan. 27, when the Rebuild Tuscaloosa organization and radio stations 98 TXT, 94.1 ZBQ and 105.9 talk radio all came together to give back. The idea spawned from Jonathan Thorn, a 98 TXT deejay who was originally from Jefferson County.
“My mom watched on TV as the tornado in April barely missed me, and then, Monday morning, I found myself in a position watching her barely missed by the EF3 in Clay,” Thorn said in an article for Alabama’s 13. “So, I wanted to help all week long, and I got together with ‘Rebuild Tuscaloosa,’ and we just kind of made this happen on the fly.” Kappa Alpha Theta sorority also collected water and Gatorade for the tornado relief.
“After everything that happened on April 27, we got loads and loads of relief from all over the country,” said Shana Rosenberg, a Kappa Alpha Theta. “People in Alabama were helping in any way they could. So when Jefferson County got hit, we knew we needed to give back and help them rebuild their community like they did for us.”
