Americorps Says Goodbye to Joplin
By: Drew Moore
Updated: December 21, 2012
JOPLIN, MO.--- Americorps team leader Chad Angell says he will always remember how what he saw the morning after the tornado changed Joplin forever.
"By 7 p.m., I think we had 1,500 volunteers at our doorstep ready to serve," says Chad Angell, Americorps Team Leader.
The volunteers were the first of more than 157,000 the group has overseen since May 22nd, 2011. This empty office once held nearly 200 Americorps workers who organized work details with up to 3,000 volunteers a day.
"We are close now to over 1 million hours of service," says Angell.
Angell says now is the time to close the doors and move on.
"It's tough to leave, but at the same time, disasters start local and they end local," says Angell.
Local agencies will now step in and take over the responsibilities Americorps has shouldered. Kate Massey with the Long Term Recovery Committee in Joplin says groups like Rebuild Joplin, the Red Cross, and Catholic Charities will help fill the void.
"There are a number of local agencies working, churches working, building organizations depending on the need. So if you need assistance, there is definitely still help available," says Kate Massey, Long Term Recovery Committee, Joplin.
Angell says he's proud that he and his team can leave behind a path to recovery the community can build on.
"I've never been more confident than right now that Joplin can continue our efforts and continue to rebuild," says Angell.
Here's a breakdown of what Americorps did in their time here. Provided more than 3,000 people with assistance. Organized nearly 158,000 volunteers and tracked almost 980,000 hours of volunteer time.
