JOPLIN, MO.--- Marquita Martin now has a place to rest her head at night and a comfy couch to relax on after a long day thanks to the Joplin Area Long Term Recovery Committee.
"They've helped me get the furniture, they've helped me get beds in the bedroom and the table and chairs in the kitchen. If it wasn't for them, I don't know what we would have really done," says Marquita Martin, Home Owner.
The funding that helped Martin and many other families like hers is quickly running out.
"The Joplin Area Long Term Recovery Committee was requesting funds to continue the work that we have been doing really since early after the tornado," says Renee White, Chair Person, Long Term Recovery Committee.
The Joplin Area Long Term Recovery Committee is one of several community organizations hoping to secure grant money from a tornado donation fund.
"Today's meeting was to let those 15 make their presentation to the board and have the board members ask whatever questions they might have," says Phil Stinnett, Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
The Joplin Tornado First Response Fund Board of Trustees will award up to $350 thousand during the 2013 grant cycle. Members say the hard part is deciding who gets funding and how much to allocate.
"It's difficult, they are all great organizations however, I think the board is always looking at where do we get the most bang for our buck. It is a program that gets to a lot of people," says White.
"We would hope to help all families in need," says Stinnett.
Families look at these donations as more than just a new couch or new table, but a new lease on life.
"You've really changed our lives, and its made a big difference, its given me strength to go on," says Martin.
The board will meet again next Monday to make a final decision.
