Greater Greenfield poised for continued impact

Since the devastating EF-4 tornado struck Adair County May 21, 2024, local disaster response organizers were fortunate to be able to turn to the Greater Greenfield Community Foundation (GGCF) as disaster relief donations poured into our community. GGCF also rose to the challenge and was, and continues to be, instrumental in the recovery process.

In 2024, GGCF provided right at $600,000 in direct assistance to residents and business owners affected by the storm. These funds have allowed families to cover expenses as they rebuild or repair their homes and have helped business owners with costs as they work to reopen.

The Foundation also held a variety of special events at the Gathering Place June through the end of December for tornado relief. They held special meals, expanded pantry hours and also had a wide variety of giving days with items such as boots, turkeys, beef and pork certificates, winter coats, baby items, quilts, gift cards to a variety of places and of course the Restore Christmas program.

The Foundation’s longstanding hygiene pantry became even more important as hygiene items are often overlooked in disaster recovery. The pantry offerings were expanded to also include more baby items, clothing, household goods, etc. The pantry continues to be heavily used.

With a generous donation from the Carver Foundation Grant, GGCF has been supporting a wide variety of youth activities since last June and will continue to do that until this summer all free to youth. Free movie days, circus tickets, pool passes along with supported youth services and camps through or at places such as Greenfield Library, Adair County ISU Extension and Outreach, The Adair County Health and Fitness Center and Adair County Conservation. GGCF will also provide rides/inflatables free of charge at the Fourth of July Celebration in Greenfield and a special performer at the Adair Co. Fair. Art Therapy and mental health services for children were also important parts of what this grant funded.

The Foundation’s ability to respond so effectively was strengthened by philanthropic support, including a grant from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s Midwest Early Recovery Fund. This funding allowed the Foundation to hire a full-time employee, a Disaster Recovery Coordinator (Michelle Carns). In doing this, the Foundation has ensured that recovery efforts are locally driven, equitable and holistic. With disaster response programs often underfunded, philanthropic investments like this help bridge the gap and provide communities with the resources they need. The CDP grant will pay for the full-time position from July 2024 through December of this year.

The beginning of 2025 will see case management for individuals wind up and GGCF has been now working on large-impact community recovery projects such as housing and infrastructure.

Foundation director Jennifer Garside also stated it was important the community knows that many of our donations were “restricted,” meaning when a donor gave, they gave with a specific request of where those funds would be used such as housing or trees, etc.

GGCF would like to remind anyone who has medical expenses related to the tornado to please contact them by March 31 to apply for partial reimbursements of what insurance did not cover. This includes ER visits, hospital stays, etc. If you lost things like eyeglasses, contacts, hearing aids or other medical devices, they can make partial reimbursement with a dedicated donation that was made for this purpose.

To apply for medical reimbursement or with any other questions regarding the GGCF please contact Carns at 515-313-3706 or Garside at 641-745-5904.