Convoy Delivers Donations to Joplin MO

A convoy led by 51st District Court Judge Jodi Debbrecht and Main Street Oakland County Program Coordinator Bob Donohue was expected home early Sunday morning, after delivering supplies donated by southeast Michigan residents to the victims of the tornado that destroyed most of Joplin, MO.

The convoy left late morning on Friday to drop off the supplies that will help ease the suffering of Joplin residents.

director Annette Knowles said an anonymous donor delivered $1,000 worth of materials to , the local collection point. In addition, probably because the city was the western-most drop-off, a man from Williamston came in with a wheelbarrow full of tools.

Knowles said the devastation in Joplin is unimagineable.

"Six thousand homes were leveled," she said. "That's more than the City of Farmington."

In a news conference that preceded the convoy’s departure, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson thanked all who came to Joplin’s aid. “Oakland County and southeast Michigan answered the call. We are sending four semi-trucks and a van full of donated supplies to help our fellow Americans in Joplin rebuild,” Patterson said.

“When this project started, our goal was to take two semi truckloads down to Joplin - we have four!” Debbrecht said. “I am very proud to be a Michigander. Southeast Michigan has again shown its true colors.”

The convoy dropped off hundreds of children’s books collected for the youngest victims of the Joplin tornado, donated pet food to the Humane Society and dozens of pallets of needed supplies at the Americorps warehouse at Missouri Southern State University.

Southeast Michigan residents donated nearly every item on the city's request list. Sponsors came through in a big way too. Frank Torre of Instar, a Troy-based disaster recovery firm, donated two trucks, 100 wheelbarrows, 100 shovels and 100 rakes. Livonia-based Aristeo construction donated wheelbarrows, vests, shovels, ropes, rakes, rags, gloves, garbage bags and extension cords. Two additional tractor-trailer trucks were donated – one by Manuel “Matty” Moroun’s Central Transport and the other by Roger Penske.

More than $10,000 was donated to the Oakland County Helps Joplin fund at the Oakland County Credit Union, which made the first donation of $1,000. A portion of that money was used to purchase additional supplies to be delivered to Joplin. The remainder of the money will be donated directly to a Joplin relief fund in Missouri.