wfn.org | Iowa United Methodists help Oklahoma tornado victims

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Aug. 12, 1999  News media contact: Thomas S.
McAnally*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.  10-71B{421}

A UMNS Feature
By Joan Bundy*

Most of Iowa suffered from overdoses of water, heat and wind this spring and
summer, but the state was largely spared the devastation of tornadoes.

Instead, Iowa United Methodists found themselves helping with tornado
recovery efforts outside their state. In the process, Dawn Johnson, a member
of First United Methodist Church in Indianola, showed how one person can
leverage a lot of aid for disaster victims.

After tornadoes tore through Oklahoma and Kansas last May, Johnson spoke by
phone with her sister, Sue Bokemper of Moore, Okla., about the damage.
Bokemper's family had survived a multiple-funnel system that cut through the
Oklahoma City suburb, killing 42 people and destroying at least 40 percent
of its residences.

A junior high teacher, Bokemper told her sister that one school, Kelly
Elementary, had been destroyed and might not have enough resources for class
to resume in the fall. A light bulb went on in Johnson's head.

"I always look for projects to do with my kids that are fun but also teach
them something," Johnson said. "I don't want my kids to grow up to think
(about tragedies), 'Ah, that's too bad; I wonder if there's something I
could do to help' and not follow through."

Since her family -- including husband Mike, 8-year-old daughter Erica, and
4-year-old twins Brandon and Nathaniel -- usually visit Bokemper's family
every summer,  Johnson decided to gather school supplies to take with them. 

She contacted Kelly Elementary's administrators, who gave her approval to
solicit donations and a list of most-needed items for both students and
teachers. She then talked up the idea with friends, family, school
principals, children's bookstore owners and anyone else who would listen.
Her children designed posters and made collection boxes. 

With only three weeks of classes left before summer vacation, Johnson
convinced Indianola's schools to participate in the drive. Students took
letters home to their parents, explaining what Johnson was doing. Families
responded enthusiastically, filling drop boxes to overflowing.

Elsewhere, students at Indianola's Redeemer Lutheran Church's Vacation Bible
School donated supplies. Residents of The Village, a local United
Methodist-related retirement community, raised $125, which Johnson used to
buy Wal-Mart gift certificates for school supplies.

The campaign spread to Des Moines, where First United Methodist Church
solicited members for donations. One of Johnson's friends, who works at
Equitable of Iowa Companies, encouraged co-workers to get involved. Sixty
computers that had been replaced with updated models were donated. An
employee's brother, who worked for a trucking company, delivered them to
Moore.

Equitable employees also donated $200 in cash, with which Johnson bought
indoor recess games. Until a new building can be built, Kelly Elementary's
students are using a former school administration building next to a junior
high, and they are sharing that school's playground.

Book sellers pitched in, asking customers to donate age-appropriate new or
used books and offering them a discount if they bought books from them for
that purpose. The businesses also donated hundreds of student books,
teaching materials and educational games.

With delivery slated for the last week of July, the Johnsons began saving
money for the expense of a U-Haul to transport the donated items. Then Jody
and Kelly Cordom, also members of First Church in Indianola, secured a
donation from his excavation company to pay for the truck rental. So the
Johnsons pooled their rental-truck savings and some leftover donation money
and bought 20 beanbag chairs, which the school said it sorely needed for
reading areas.

On Sunday, July 25, Johnson and her family, along with other volunteers,
loaded up the U-Haul, and the family headed to Oklahoma. Her father, the
Rev. Keith Scott, pastor of the Jeneseo (Iowa) United Methodist Church,
drove the truck. Two days later they pulled into Moore. Although schools
were closed for the summer, many teachers and administrators turned out to
help unload the supplies and thank the Iowans for their generosity.

One teacher tearfully told Johnson the story of a tree found on the lot
where Kelly Elementary had stood. Most of the trees in the tornado's path
did not survive. But a few days after the storm, she noticed green shoots
coming out of the trunk of this particular tree, which had been planted two
decades ago in memory of a student who had died. She called a tree doctor,
who confirmed with amazement that the tree was alive and would likely
survive with regular watering. 

Said Johnson: "That was her symbol that Kelly Elementary would be back."
#  #  #
*Bundy is a free-lance writer and a member of First United Methodist Church
in Indianola.

______________
United Methodist News Service
http://www.umc.org/umns/
newsdesk@umcom.umc.org
(615)742-5472