Response to Tornadoes in Central and Western Massachusetts

June 27

The Alliance is collecting donations and distributing them to our partner agencies working directly with families and children impacted by the disaster, particularly Holyoke/Chicopee/Springfield Head Start, which suffered damage to their building, and has about 10 families and 3 staff members who have been displaced or have been severely impacted by the devastation; and Corporation for Public Management, which is working to house families currently in temporary shelters. Please consider donating the following:

• Gift Cards to Wal-Mart (allows for food, clothing and household items to be purchased) or grocery stores (Price Rite, Save A lot, Big Y, and Stop and Shop are the most common ones in Springfield).
• Clothing in children sizes 3T (particularly girls’ 3T), 4T, 5T, 8/10, 10/12; and adults (particularly women, plus size 2X)
• Household items such as towels, blankets, toiletries, dishes, etc.
• Preschool aged toys/books

Donations can be dropped at the Alliance’s office at 105 Chauncy Street, 8th floor, Boston, MA 02111 between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM on weekdays. You can also give donated items to Alliance staff or contact Erica Fletcher to drop off items at her home in Roslindale. We’ll be bringing donated materials to Springfield agencies several times per week. If you’d like to make monetary donations or volunteer, please visit the Springfield Republican website for a list of recovery resources. If your agency has been impacted by the tornadoes and needs assistance, please contact Erica Fletcher, Prevention Director, with information on how we can help.

June 2

To our colleagues and member organizations affected by Wednesday’s tornadoes: please know that our thoughts are with you, your staff, and the youth and families you serve.

If you’re interested in helping, please contribute to the American Red Cross. You can also text “REDCROSS” to 90999 to send $10 to the organization. The charge will appears on your cellphone bill.

The Springfield Republican is maintaining a daily-updated page of resources for tornado victims, events, and ways that people can help with the disaster recovery.