One week after an EF-3 tornado tore through parts of the Fox Valley, recovery and clean-up is far from over. But one organization, Convoy of Hope has deployed trucks to Menasha, Wisconsin with emergency supplies.
Convoy of Hope, a Missouri based non-profit humanitarian organization provides disaster relief to communities. Ethan Forhetz, Convoy of Hope Vice President joined Wisconsin’s Midday News to discuss how his organization is helping Fox Valley residents recover from the devastating storms.
“We began with groceries, and water, and tarps for peoples roofs,” Forhetz said. They even provided totes for people to collect items from their homes or yards.
But recovery response evolves over time.
“As we get a little further away from the tornado that hit…we’ve got about a dozen people there or so, working with heavy machinery that we’ve transported up to clean up yards and do the things that insurance is not going to do. We’ve been able to identify some middle to lower income areas where people could struggle… we’re digging up roots, we’re pulling up trees and taking them to the curb… just sort of ease the pain.”
How long Convoy of Hope will stay varies based on community need, but Forhetz said they will stay for the foreseeable future because they want to “help as many people as possible for as long as possible.”
Forhetz added that a lot of their local partners are churches.
“They make great partners for Convoy of Hope because, when you think about it, there are several churches in every community… they usually have the parking lots and volunteers to help us distribute the supplies that we’re giving out.”
