Alabama Power Foundation supports tornado relief
Several parts of Shelby County were among those devastated by the March 2021 tornadoes that ripped through Alabama. (Scott Chramer / Alabama NewsCenter)
A $20,000 donation by the Alabama Power Foundation to the American Red Cross is helping provide immediate relief and long-term recovery to victims of the tornadoes that tore through central Alabama late last month.
“The money is already being put to use,” said Annette Rowland, communications director for the Red Cross, Alabama and Mississippi region. She said 127 families in Bibb, Calhoun, Jefferson and Shelby counties were forced into temporary shelter because of the tornadoes, which killed five people and destroyed or severely damaged homes and businesses across the region. She said the last family was able to check out of a hotel on Saturday, April 10. All the displaced families who could not return to their homes are now in rental properties or staying with family and friends.
Rowland said even now, after the families are out of temporary emergency housing, the Red Cross continues to provide them a variety of services. All displaced families have access to a caseworker, who can assist with children’s education placement or support, mental health and spiritual counseling, as well as financial assistance for numerous needs – from medical supplies to food, to clothes – as they work toward returning to some semblance of normal.
“I think it’s important to understand – it’s only because of the generosity of people, corporations, foundations, that we can respond to so many disasters and help the people who really need it,” Rowland said. She noted that in addition to large disasters, such as tornadoes and hurricanes, the Red Cross also responds to individual disasters, like house fires, that affect a single family.
Tequila Smith, president of the Alabama Power Foundation and vice president of Charitable Giving for Alabama Power, said the foundation was eager to do its part to help families begin their recovery from the recent tornadoes.
“Not only the foundation, but so many of our employees – either individually or through the Alabama Power Service Organization – wanted to help,” Smith said.
In the immediate hours and days after the tornadoes struck, employees and members of the Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO) made financial donations and began collecting supplies for those in need. For example, the Western Division Chapter of APSO collected and donated needed supplies to victims in the Centreville area, while the Eastern Division APSO Chapter supported the Calhoun County Emergency Management Agency in its efforts to provide relief to victims in the Ohatchee community, where three members of one family and another person were killed. In the Birmingham area, the Magic City Chapter of APSO supported multiple organizations that were collecting supplies.
The company’s Storm Logistics team also donated 375 meals to a Birmingham-area nonprofit that helps the homeless, after the team determined it had extra supplies after completing storm-restoration operations.
Rowland said people can still donate to support Red Cross recovery efforts related to the tornadoes or to support other disaster relief. Go to www.redcross.org to donate online, or text “redcross” to 90999 to make a quick, $10 donation. Contributions can be taken via phone by calling 1-800-REDCROSS or by mailing a check to your local American Red Cross office.
