On Wednesday, August 24th in Kokomo and rural Howard County, three tornadoes tore through neighborhoods, businesses, and farms. Those tornadoes caused substantial damage to buildings, trees, and left over a dozen people injured. Many were left without business, homes, or trying to pick up the debris around them. The staff, faculty, and students of Ross Medical Education Center in Kokomo, Indiana volunteered to be a part of the relief efforts from those tornadoes and the damage they caused.
The largest tornado that went through the area on that Wednesday afternoon was an F3. It caused a lot of damage to businesses, houses, apartments, and a county home for the elderly. According to CNN, there was also a Starbucks that was destroyed with about 15 people trapped in the restrooms where they had gone to find cover. Fortunately they were uninjured, but not everyone was so lucky. In response to these disasters, the American Red Cross has set up a couple shelters for those that had lost their homes. These two shelters will be used temporarily until homes can be repaired or rebuilt.
The Ross Kokomo staff, students, and faculty volunteered their afternoon the week following the tornadoes to do what they could to help out those that had been affected by the disaster. They helped to sort and organize items at the tornado relief warehouse in their area. That afternoon, they spent their time sorting clothing, sheets, blankets, towels, water, food, cleaning supplies, and other much needed items.
However, Ross isn’t the only group in the community that has stepped up in response to the recent natural disasters and loss. “The way the Kokomo community has come together in this time of crisis has been inspiring,” shared Edie Hensel, Assistant Campus Director of Education. “We were just happy to play a small part in helping out our neighbors.” The campus was thankful for the opportunity to join the wonderful Kokomo area in making sure that their community was taken care of in their time of need.