The Cities of O’Fallon and Collinsville have adopted two cities in the Gulf region that were recently devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
Citizens in both communities felt that they wanted to do something to assist the hurricane ravaged area, but weren’t sure what to do or where to start. While donating to the Red Cross or Salvation Army is a fine way to assist, many folks wanted to be more directly involved in the relief effort.
New Orleans and its surrounding area were already receiving a great deal of national attention, so O’Fallon and Collinsville decided to focus our efforts on communities in Mississippi where we could provide assistance directly to our chosen communities.
The relief effort is named the “Two Cities Hurricane Relief Fund” and the cities being adopted are Pascagoula and Long Beach, Mississippi.
Both cities are similar in size to O’Fallon and Collinsville, with Pascagoula’s population at 26,000 and Long Beach’s at 17,000. The Mississippi cities are approximately 30 miles apart and have both suffered a huge amount of damage.
In Pascagoula, 80% of the city was flooded by the storm surge. The City Hall, Police Station, Utilities buildings and vehicles were all flooded. City Hall is currently operating out of a trailer with very limited capacity for communications. Most employees and residents are homeless. The situation in Long Beach is identical to that in Pascagoula.
“Both Mississippi cities have been contacted and are thrilled that we are able to provide assistance to them in their recovery efforts,” said Collinsville’s Mayor Stan Schaeffer. O’Fallon’s Mayor Graham added, “I am thankful that both the O’Fallon and Collinsville communities have caring individuals who are willing to help others in need.”
A task force, comprised of civic leaders from both Collinsville and O’Fallon, has been formed to organize and manage the relief effort. The task force subcommittees and their chairs are listed on the City of O’Fallon website at www.ofallon.org. If you would like to volunteer for this important relief effort, all you need to do is visit the City website, choose the subcommittee on which you wish to serve, and then contact the chair of that subcommittee.
In order to ensure that we are collecting the items that our adopted cities need most, the current list of needed items can be found by going to the City of O’Fallon website at www.ofallon.org and clicking on the link listed on the front page. It is anticipated that this list will change on a daily basis, at least for a while.
Items can be dropped off at the following locations: Bank of O’Fallon, 901 S. Lincoln; City Hall, 255 S. Lincoln; Public Safety Facility, 285 N. Seven Hills Road; the VFW, 221 W. 1st Street, and at the O’Fallon Township Building, 801 E. State Street.
All donations are tax-deductible. Checks should be made payable to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 805 with “Two Cities Relief Fund” on the memo line. Checks can be mailed to the VFW at 221 W. First Street, O’Fallon, IL 62269.
While our two adopted cities will generally need basic supplies for the near future, both O’Fallon and Collinsville are prepared to continue relief efforts for a long period of time. As reconstruction begins and these communities define what their bigger needs are, we will be there to assist.
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