Please Help Arkansas Tornado Victims If You Can

Featured | May 8, 2014 by Sporting Life Arkansas | 2 Comments

From the Sports Desk, April 27, 2014, 11:20 pm:

It’s simply a horrible scene all across Arkansas, sporting life Arkansans.

Just the worst devastation and destruction we’ve seen this close to home in a while.

If you can, please consider helping the Arkansas tornado victims in any way possible.

Here is a link to the Arkansas Chapter of the American Red Cross. That’s one way to help. They’re going to need it. Lots of people are.

You can keep up with the work of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Red Cross on Twitter here, too.

UPDATE May 8, 2014:

Here come the Hogs

FAYETTEVILLE – With the completion of finals this week on the University of Arkansas campus, Razorback student-athletes, coaches and administrators are set to travel to Central Arkansas on Friday to assist in the relief efforts for those impacted by the recent tornadoes in Mayflower, Vilonia and surrounding communities.

As part of the Razorback Relief efforts, the contingent will travel to a Regional Distribution Center in Conway to assist in the organization and distribution of food to the thousands of Arkansans who lost their homes in the recent storms. The 288,000 square foot warehouse is the base for storing the food that will help supply food to the six distribution points in Franklin County and surrounding areas.

Following their work at the distribution center, the group will dine locally to help support an area business before traveling to tour some of the communities affected by the devastating storms.

On Tuesday night, Arkansas head football coach Bret Bielema, men’s basketball head coach Mike Anderson and football student-athlete Travis Swanson were in attendance to help support the benefit baseball game between Mayflower and Vilonia at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.

In addition, plans are already being made to return to Mayflower and Vilonia later this summer for additional relief efforts when more Razorback student-athletes are available to participate.

Friday’s trip is being coordinated in conjunction with Ron Harris of A Level Up, an organization that has been involved in providing disaster relief for more than a decade. Transportation for the Razorback Relief trip was donated by Cline Tours with additional trip support provided by Chick-fil-A.

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The Clinton School of Public Service has announced an easy way to help, in partnership with the Arkansas Foodbank.

The Clinton Foundation and the Clinton School are working together to support the community’s efforts to assist the victims of the recent violent storms in Pulaski, Faulkner, and White Counties. In partnership with the Arkansas Foodbank, Sturgis Hall will serve as a drop-off location for goods, such as nonperishable food items. For more information, click here.

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UPDATE May 4, 2014, 4:50 pm:

Just days after a devastating tornado ripped through central Arkansas, several Henderson athletes knew they had a chance to make a difference in the Vilonia and Mayflower communities. On Saturday, they made sure that chance became a reality.

Mayflower:

A group of Reddie football players, led by quarterback Kevin Rodgers, who first tweeted last Monday about getting a group together to assist in relief, left Arkadelphia and headed for the Mayflower area on Saturday morning.

Rodgers, Kenrick Burns, Blake Reeve, Mark Czaus, and Charlie Korn set aside their weekend plans and selflessly devoted their time to help others in need. They were joined by a handful of Harding student athletes, as well, as some of the fellow GAC members saw Rodgers’ tweet and wanted to join forces.

The crew, also accompanied by two other vans full of Henderson students, arrived between 9 and 10 a.m. and stayed until close to 5 p.m., picking up countless parts of fallen trees and throwing them into piles, and moving other large pieces of debris.

“Seeing all the destruction really makes you appreciate what you have, whether it’s a little or a lot,” Burns said. “It could all be taken away in a split second.”

One of the homes affected belonged to the class of 1969 Henderson graduate Nancy Burris.

“Mrs. Nancy was so appreciative of our efforts to help,” Rodgers said. “Being able to keep a positive attitude after something as catastrophic as this showed how strong she was.”

As the group made their way further into Mayflower, they stopped at a community called “The Plantation,” where 37 homes were destroyed. It was here where the group met a couple that served for 21 years in the U.S. Army.

Rodgers also mentioned that this couple lost almost everything they had, but still kept a positive attitude and were very gracious in receiving assistance from the athletes.

“It was so cool to see everyone from all walks of life coming to help out,” Rodgers said. “My teammates didn’t have to come with me, but they did, and I think we made a tremendous difference today. I would go to war with these guys any day of the week.”

Vilonia:

After a semi-final run at the Great American Conference Softball Tournament in Bentonville, Ark. over the weekend, the Lady Reddie softball team also pitched in relief effort on the way back home.

The team had decided before they even headed to Bentonville that they were going to help aid the Vilonia community on their way back. The Lady Reddies hooked up with members of Beryl Baptist Church from Vilonia, and together they spent the afternoon tending to the needs of the community members.

In the process of picking up debris and gathering belongings of demolished homes, the players understood the impact and importance of community service. Hannah Bender, a sophomore pitcher, mentioned that an elderly man from the area who had lost his home came over to the team and thanked them numerous times for their help, saying that he wished they understood how much of a difference they were making and how big their help was.

“Even though our season ended yesterday, this was a chance for us to come together as a family one last time and be a positive influence,” Bender said. “It was something that every single one of us on the team wanted to do. One of the best things about the team this year was the unity we had, and I think it showed this weekend.”

As the school year comes to a close, several Reddie athletes will be heading home for the summer with a different perspective on life, now knowing that in just a few short seconds everything can change drastically.

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UPDATE May 3, 2014, 9:51 am:

A-State Athletics Holding Tornado Relief Fund Drive

JONESBORO, Ark. – The Arkansas State Athletics Department will be holding a relief fund drive next week, May 5-9, to assist in the recovery process for the geographic regions that were hit by several tornados earlier this week.

A delivery trailer staffed by Arkansas State Athletics administrators, coaches and student-athletes will be parked outside Centennial Bank Stadium between the hours of 9 a.m.-5 p.m. for anyone wishing to donate clothing, canned goods and/or additional items to assist in the recovery process for those individuals and families who were in the tornado paths.

Once the collection process is completed next week, A-State head football coach Blake Anderson along with student-athletes representing all Red Wolves’ programs will deliver the items to areas heavily affected by the tornados. Arkansas State student-athletes have been instrumental in organizing the athletics department’s efforts to assist in the recovery process.

“Along with rest of the nation, our hearts go out to all the victims and their families who were impacted by the tornados and are now faced with the difficult task of recovery,” said Arkansas State Director of Athletics Terry Mohajir. “We’re hopeful this relief fund drive will be well received by our community as we try to gather as many items as possible to help make a positive difference in their lives.”

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UPDATE April 29, 2014, 10:20 pm:

Our friends from 103.7 The Buzz have the following schedule to help the Arkansas tornado victims:

On Thursday, May 1st 103.7 The Buzz will be raising funds as well as much needed items to help aid those affected by the recent storms that did so much damage and sadly claimed so many lives across our state. Throughout a series of live broadcasts, station remotes and various on-air talent appearances this Thursday we will offer coverage across many of the affected areas and drive listeners to our central donation point at Jim’s Razorback Pizza in Maumelle.

Our current outline of events for Thursday, May 1, 2014 is as follows:

(6-12 Noon): “The Show With No Name” with Tommy Smith, David Bazzel and Roger Scott will broadcast live from M&M Stop-N-Shop in El Paso.

(6am-1pm): Justin Acri and Pat Bradley will broadcast “The Zone” live on location at Sonic in Mayflower.

(6am-6pm): 103.7 The Buzz Promotions Director Jeremy Flynn will be live on location at Jim’s Razorback Pizza in Maumelle collecting items.

(7-9am): RJ Hawk from “The Show With No Name” will be gathering items at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock.

(1-4pm): “Overtime” with Matt Jones and Trey Schaap will join in the relief efforts with a live broadcast at Jim’s Razorback Pizza.

(4-7pm): Randy Rainwater will wrap up the day with “DriveTime Sports” at Jim’s Razorback Pizza.

(6pm): 103.7 The Buzz will deliver items gathered throughout the day to a designated area to be determined by The American Red Cross.

All donations should be delivered to Jim’s Razorback Pizza, located at 20608 Arkansas 365 in Maumelle between 6am and 6pm.

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UPDATE April 28, 2014, 12:20 pm:

Our friends from Signal Media ask us to pass this along:

LITTLE ROCK, AR. (APRIL 28TH, 2014): The Point 94.1 kicked off the “Road to Relief” today to help raise much needed funds and items to assist in relief efforts to aid those in need after the tragic outbreak of tornadoes that ravaged much of Arkansas on the evening of Sunday, April 27th.

The Point 94.1 Road to Relief which began this morning at 11am at Stratton’s Market at Dugan’s Pub in Downtown Little Rock will continue this afternoon at Mayflower RV in Sherwood from 3 to 6pm. We will continue to relief efforts on Tuesday, April 29th with hosts Ashley King and Drew Mitchell of “The Morning Routine” live at Landers Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Benton from 6 to 10am followed by Mike Kennedy making stops at Superior Dodge in Conway from 11am until 1pm and Home Depot in Conway from 3 to 6pm.

“We at KKPT saw a need in our community to help the individuals and communities affected by the storms.” says Steve Jonsson, Vice President and General Manager of KKPT The Point 94.1 “We have identified those needs and as a part of this community we will do our part to help those in need.”

Items of need at this time include bottled water, work gloves, tarps, toiletries, non-perishable food items as well as tools such as shovels and chainsaws.

Signal Media of Arkansas consists of three radio stations: KABZ-FM 103.7 The Buzz, KKPT-FM The Point 94.1 and KHLR-FM Heartbeat 106.7. Signal Media also owns and operates these websites: www.1037thebuzz.com, www.point941.com, www.heartbeat1067.com, and www.signalmedia.net.

Our friends at First Security Bank are also accepting donations at all banking centers:

All First Security Banking Centers are accepting monetary and item donations for those affected by Sunday’s storms. To find a location close to you, click here.

Items Needed:
Blankets
Tarps
Gloves
First aid items
Diapers
Toothpaste/brushes
Baby wipes
Hand sanitizer
Flash lights
Batteries
Non-perishable food items
Toiletries
Toilet paper
Cleaning supplies
New toys/coloring books/stuffed animals