JOPLIN, Mo. —
Each of the 47 houses now under construction by the Joplin chapter of Habitat for Humanity has been touched by many hands.
There are the behind-the-scenes efforts to organize golf tournaments and auctions to raise money. There are the volunteer workers who cut lumber and drywall, pound nails and mix concrete. There are the local business owners and corporate sponsors who provide discounts and donations on everything from appliances to plumbing fixtures.
The house at 2630 S. Wall Ave. is no different.
Every piece, from the studs that were raised Monday to the final touch of landscaping, and every volunteer and business sponsor has a story to tell.
Scott Clayton, executive director of the local Habitat chapter, said that by the time it is finished, hundreds of people will have left their mark on the house in some way, ranging from the sweat mixed with mortar to the messages of hope that volunteers scribbled on the framing.
For the duration, the Globe will use a comprehensive approach involving new media, such as Twitter and Instagram, along with traditional print stories and video, to chronicle the house’s construction and the varied stories behind it.
Volunteers at the construction site are invited to use their smartphones to capture images and share them using Instagram, and to tweet updates (in both cases, using the hashtag #2630Wall).
Globe photographer Roger Nomer and staff writer Andra Bryan Stefanoni will do likewise, while Web producer Alexandra Nicolas will capture video, so that readers and viewers across the nation can track the home’s progress.
Each Sunday, the Globe will provide a feature and photo about the project — stories of the family that will one day call 2630 S. Wall Ave. its home, the people who donated the lot, the volunteers providing the labor, and the businesses and sponsors underwriting the cost.
When it’s all said and done, the Globe will present a look back at the project, from the ground up, both in print and online.
May 2011 Joplin tornado
Joplin houses touched by many hands
Globe effort will follow the stories behind typical Habitat home
- May 2011 Joplin tornado
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Joplin insurance agent seeks donations for Moore, Okla.
After losing an office building and her home in the tornado on May 22, 2011, Loretta Bailey is familiar with the destruction that a tornado brings. The 400 households that her insurance agency helped through the aftermath of the tornado also know that loss. \
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SLIDESHOW: One year later, One day of unity, updated
Photos from a day of events commemorating the May 22, 2011 tornado anniversary
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Joplin team drove through storm to get to Moore
It was a long drive in the middle of a severe thunderstorm that had earlier produced a massive tornado in Moore, Okla. With the two-year anniversary of Joplin’s deadly twister approaching on Wednesday, a team of 14 Joplin emergency workers was ready to risk the trip in order to get help to a hurting Moore.
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Federal, state leaders salute Joplin’s recovery
A deadly May twister may have punched a hole in Joplin and Duquesne two years ago, but the resolve to repair it will help other communities stand strong when they face similar disasters. That was the message of state and national diginitaries to a crowd of about 2,500 who observed the second anniversary of Joplin’s devastating May 22, 2011, storm during a ceremony Wednesday in Cunningham Park.
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Banner from Joplin to be sent to Moore residents
A giant vinyl banner adorned with heartfelt messages from Joplin tornado survivors to the residents of Moore, Okla., became a centerpiece of Wednesday’s observance of the two-year anniversary of the May 22, 2011, tornado.
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Rick Rescorla award named for hero of Vietnam War, 9-11 terror attacks
The Rick Rescorla National Award for Resilience is named for a 62-year-old vice president of security for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. who directed an evacuation of the company’s 2,700-person workforce in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2011.
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Community gearing up for two-year anniversary ceremony this afternoon
With the playground full of children, it could be any other day at Joplin’s Cunningham Park, but the white tents popping up and neat rows of white chairs lined up nearby indicate something more is happening today.
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Farmers Insurance teams up with Rebuild Joplin
Farmers Insurance announced Tuesday that the company will team up with Rebuild Joplin for an initiative to help the community complete its recovery efforts. The company already has placed one of its executives in Joplin, and it is pledging additional funds and volunteer hours by company workers to go toward the city’s recovery.
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Joplin man continues struggle to recover two years after tornado
As the Joplin tornado passed overhead, sweeping the house at 2430 S. Pennsylvania Ave. away in its wake, there was a moment of calm. Delbert Mcguirk was on his back in the basement, where he had sought shelter along with his wife, daughter and two grandchildren. In that moment of relative quiet, he stared up into the eye of the tornado.
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Storms cause damage throughout the Four States
Four-State Area residents hunkered down twice Monday to ride out tornadoes and powerful spring storms, then went to work cleaning up. The worst damage from Monday night’s storm was being reported in Ottawa County, Okla., near Wyandotte. That followed a report of an EF-1 tornado early Monday morning near Carthage.
- More May 2011 Joplin tornado Headlines
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