WICHITA — Residents in the tornado-ravaged city of Andover and rural parts of southeastern Sedgwick County are working on piecing their lives back together after an EF-3 twister cut a more than 12-mile path of destruction through the area on Friday, April 29.
As they assess the damage, they’ll need help.
If you’re looking to support those impacted by the tornado, here are ways to do it.
Give cash
Charity organizations say cash contributions are one of the best and most efficient ways to help out in a crisis.
The United Way of the Plains is taking money donations for tornado victims at an online disaster relief fund, unitedwayplains.org/disaster-relief-fund. You can pay using a credit or debit card or with PayPal.
You can also dial 211 to give cash or offer up in-kind donations.
Text “teamwork” to 41444 to donate on a mobile device.
Or, you can mail a check to: The United Way of the Plains, 245 N. Water St. Wichita, KS 67202.
Corporations who want to give should contact United Way’s vice president of philanthropy, Anne Chandler, at [email protected] or 316-267-1321 ext. 4213.
Give money to specific individuals
GoFundMe has created a centralized hub for tornado victim donation requests. Many accounts are for individual victims or families. To see those requests and read victim stories, go to www.gofundme.com/c/act/donate-to-kansas-tornado-relief. GoFundMe says the fundraisers listed in the hub have been verified by its Trust & Safety team. New fundraisers are added as they’re vetted.
GoFundMe has a giving guarantee, which it says fully protects donors if fundraisers are deemed fraudulent.
Donate food, water and household items
Donations of bottled water, non-perishable food items and trash bags can be dropped off at the Andover Community Center, 1008 E. 13th St. in Andover. But everything else needs to go elsewhere because the center doesn’t have adequate storage space, the city said in a May 3 Facebook post.
