Kentucky tornadoes: How you can help
When there is a natural, or national, catastrophe, many want to know how they can help those impacted.
There are organizations that are spearheading donation efforts after multi-state tornadoes decimated some areas Friday night.
Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund
Gov. Andy Beshear has started the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief fund. All donations are tax-deductible with donors receiving a receipt for tax purposes.
For information on how you can donate, visit the relief fund’s website.
Checks can be made out to the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet, with “Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund” listed in the memo line.
The checks can be mailed to Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet, 200 metro Street, 5th Floor, Frankfort, KY 40622.
>>Related: Kentucky tornadoes: Governor says death toll includes children ages 3, 5
United Way
If you would like to give through the United Way, there are two locations that are accepting online donations.
The United Way network in Kentucky said it will give 100% of funds donated directly to recovery efforts.
As for the United Way network in Tennessee, there are three individual county campaigns that are pledging help in the recovery efforts after the storms:
You can also send checks to United Way of West Tennessee, 470 N. Parkway, Jackson, TN 38305.
>>Related: Severe weather impacts 5 states in South, Midwest: Here is what we know
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross is taking donations in partnership with WLKY.
You can visit the Red Cross webpage to make a donation.
At the same time the Western Kentucky Red Cross has partnered with Facebook, which is paying all processing fees for donations, WLKY reported.
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is taking donations. You can pledge your support at helpsalvationarmy.org and directly to the Salvation Army Western KY Disaster Relief Fundraiser through Facebook.
Team Rubicon USA
Team Rubicon USA, an organization that uses military veterans to deploy emergency response teams across the country and the world, is in Benton and Mayfield, Kentucky, to help clear roads, remove fallen trees and other debris. The organization is looking for volunteers to also help with expedited home repairs and residential debris removal.
Visit the organization’s volunteer page to lend a hand, or its donation page to send money.
World Central Kitchen
Chef José Andrés has traveled to Kentucky to help those who survived the storm. He and his team are providing hot meals to those who need them. Andres and his World Central Kitchen have answered dozens of calls across the world when disaster strikes, feeding those who are not only working the front lines, but those whose homes and properties have been wiped out. He also has gone to COVID-19 hotspots to feed medical workers.
To donate, visit World Central Kitchen. You can also volunteer through the group.
Rex Chapman Foundation
The former University of Kentucky basketball player is raising money through the Rex Chapman Foundation, which has partnered with the Blue Grass Community Foundation.
GoFund Me fundraisers
Various counties, individual cities, businesses and organizations have set up fundraisers through GoFundMe, including Clarksville, Indiana, food truck owners in Louisville and Muslim Americans for Compassion with Muslim Communities of Kentucky.
>>Related: Illinois tornado: Officials name 6 victims killed at Amazon facility
Kentucky Strong Shirts
Shop Local Kentucky is selling Kentucky Strong shirts to raise money for victims of the tornados. For more information and to place an order, visit the group’s website.
A resident surveys the damage from a tornado that hit downtown Mayfield, Kentucky, on Friday night.
Emergency response workers dig through the rubble of the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky.
A woman walks away from a row of ambulances on the property of Mayfield Consumer Products Candle Factory after it was destroyed by a tornado.
A feed store in Mayfield, Kentucky was severely damaged by a tornado Friday night.
artin Bolton, left, and shop owner Danny Wagner try to shut off a leaking gas meter after his automobile repair shop was destroyed by a tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Debris is scattered near a damaged feed store in Mayfield, Kentucky.
A car sits under a house destroyed by a tornado in Campbellsville, Kentucky.
Workers survey damage done by a tornado that traveled through Campbellsville, Kentucky.
Several homes were reduced to rubble after a tornado hit Mayfield, Kentucky.
Workers survey the rubble at a Family Dollar store in Mayfield, Kentucky, after Friday night’s tornado.
A resident surveys the damages after a tornado struck Bowling Green, Kentucky, on Friday.
Rescue workers dig through the rubble at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky.
A woman in Bowling Green, Kentucky, looks at the damage in the aftermath of a tornado that roared through the western part of the state Friday night.
Residents in Bowling Green, Kentucky, assess the damage after Friday night’s tornado.
Cars and homes were damaged in Mayfield, Kentucky, on Friday night.
People walk past the debris of a home flattened by Friday’s tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky.
People carry out boxes from a destroyed building after Friday’s tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky.
