The Jolie-Pitt Foundation and the Missouri Foundation for Health have recently pumped half a million dollars apiece into Missouri disaster areas.
The Jolie-Pitt Foundation today announced its $500,000 contribution to the Community Foundation of the Ozarks to benefit its Joplin Recovery Fund, according to a news release from the community foundation.
“With the devastating loss of 30 percent of the city, the Joplin community faces great challenges ahead. Having spent much of my childhood there, I know these people to be hardworking, humble and especially resilient,” actor and Springfield native Brad Pitt said in the release. “The locally based Community Foundation of the Ozarks will be working shoulder-to-shoulder with these Joplin residents for the long haul as they rebuild their lives. We, too, hope to further help with these rebuilding efforts."
In addition to assisting with short-term needs through a first response fund, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, along with affiliate Community Foundation of Southwest Missouri Inc., opened the recovery fund to focus on mid- to long-term redevelopment efforts. All donations to the fund will go to support nonprofits working on civic, economic, human services and educational needs created by the tornado.
"Rebuilding after a disaster is a long process,” Community Foundation of the Ozarks President Brian Fogle said in the release. “As our neighbors in Joplin begin to deal with the devastation, this donation from the Jolie-Pitt Foundation gives them the hope and confidence they will need to rebuild their lives, homes and community.”
With the donation from the Jolie-Pittt Foundation, the Joplin Recovery Fund will surpass $1 million.
"So often these disasters seem far away, but now the need is for thousands of people displaced right here at home," actress Angelina Jolie said in the release. "Our hearts go out to the families in Joplin who have lost so much."
In recent weeks, the Missouri Foundation for Health has awarded grant funding to 14 health-focused nonprofits in areas adversely affected by harsh weather conditions in southeast and southwest Missouri and St. Louis.
The grants come in response to the Joplin tornado, April tornado damage in St. Louis and Mississippi River floods in southeast Missouri, according to a news release from the health foundation.
“Disasters like the river flooding and Joplin tornado immediately impact the health of a community through destruction of health facilities, injuries and shock,” MFH President and CEO James R. Kimmey said in the release. “As a major current funder of more than 700 health nonprofits, MFH has a responsibility to join others in efforts to restore those facilities and assist those directly affected."
The Missouri foundation has provided $229,080 in tornado assistance grants to eight organizations in southwest Missouri and in St. Louis:
- Alliance of Southwest Missouri, Joplin, $75,000, to help provide diabetic supplies, prescription drug assistance and over-the-counter medications to tornado victims;
- Salvation Army Midland Divisional Headquarters, St. Louis, $50,000, for food and food vouchers for Joplin tornado victims;
- Community Support Services of Missouri, Joplin, $25,000, to help the organization provide additional nursing services, medication and medical equipment;
- Access Family Care, Neosho, $25,000, helping the organization delve out generators, tents, food and other supplies for field volunteers assisting Joplin-area tornado victims;
- Independent Living Center, Joplin, $20,000, for medical equipment and counseling for residents affected by tornado damage;
- Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, St. Louis, $10,000, for medical supplies for underserved tornado victims;
- Community Health Clinic of Joplin, $6,600, funding medical appointments and prescriptions; and
- Saint Louis Crisis Nursery, St. Louis, $17,480, to help the organization donate food, clothing, supplies and 24-hour child care to families affected by April tornado damage in St. Louis County.
Flood-assistance grants totaling $270,196 were given out to six southeast Missouri organization, including those in Cape Girardeau and Sikeston.
"This has been a particularly difficult year for natural disasters in the state, but MFH is responding to the situation," Kimmey said in the release. "We have many important ties in Missouri communities, and will continue to provide assistance as needs arise.”[[In-content Ad]]
