In times of disaster, the Jewish community was, is, and always will be among the first to offer help, as evidenced by the response to the tornadoes that ripped through southern Indiana and Kentucky on March 2, killing 13 people, injuring many more and leaving devastation in their wake in communities across the region. The Jewish Community of Louisville has been among those to help.
The Jewish Community of Louisville established a Tornado Relief Fund to help the victims. To date, almost $10,000 has been collected from local families and those across the United States and Canada after the appeal was picked up by the Jewish Federatons of North America.
Those funds will be distributed to different organizations on the ground in Henryville and Marysville, IN, and West Liberty, KY.The Tornado Relief Fund is still accepting donations. You may donate online by clicking here, by phone at 618-5305, or by sending a check to JCL Tornado Relief, 3600 Dutchmans Ln., Louisville, KY 40205.
Responding for a call from the Voice-Tribune, that a church in Henryville, IN, needed help feeding survivors and those who were helping them, The Temple put out a call for volunteers to make turkey and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on Thursday, March 8. They also collected non-perishable food items and school supplies, all of which were delivered on Friday, March 9.
The national Jewish disaster relief organization NECHAMA sent clean up teams to West Liberty, KY, to help with the clean up work. Their teams began work on March 7.
The American Jewish Committee made a $5,000 grant to the JCL’s Tornado Relief Fund. They also made donations to the Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis to assist in the rebuilding of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Henryville; the Presbytery of Ohio Valley, based in Bloomington, IN, to assist in tornado relief; and the Kentucky Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church to assist in the rebuilding of the United Methodist Church of West Libertyville, KY.
For more information about how you can help, please contact the JCL’s Jewish Community Relations Council Director Matt Goldberg, 618-5307 or mgoldberg@jewishlouisville.org.
