Local organizations behind an upcoming “Building with Justice” golf tournament and silent auction have raised $30,000 already and are hoping to double that or better to help build a house or two in Joplin.
The April 28 event is being sponsored by the Jasper County Bar Association, the Jasper County courts and juvenile and prosecutor’s offices, and area law enforcement agencies.
“We’re hoping to raise at least $50,000 to build a home,” said Jessica Floyd, an organizer with the Tracey Martin law firm in Joplin. “But if we get more than that, we’ll put it toward a second house.”
The legal system groups behind the event are teaming with the Joplin Area Habitat for Humanity, which recently took up Gov. Jay Nixon’s challenge of Missouri sports organizations and residents to build 35 homes this year in Joplin. The challenge seeks to help the community recover from the devastation of the May 2011 tornado.
Scott Clayton, executive director of the local Habitat for Humanity, said the “Building with Justice” event should provide a good start to meeting the governor’s challenge. Habitat for Humanity has built 13 houses in Joplin since the tornado, with 13 more currently under construction. The governor’s challenge seeks to add 35 more to those, he said.
“Only through the kindness of others and the grace of God will we be able to continue to build houses with our partners for families in need of them,” Clayton said.
The tournament will be an 18-hole four-person scramble at the Schifferdecker Golf Course with flights starting at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. The cost of playing is $75 per person or $300 per team. Floyd said there is still time to register to play, and that golfers do not need a team to enter.
“We’ve had some people register without teams,” she said. “We can put them on teams.”
The entry fee covers the round of play, a cart and a T-shirt.
The bulk of the $30,000 already raised by the effort has come from local sponsors. Three platinum sponsors — Downstream Casino, Tamko and the Hershewe law firms — contributed $5,000 each. Diamond sponsors contributing $1,000 each have included Blood Tax Service, EFCO, Joplin Urgent Care, Joplin Sports Authority, the Metz law firm, the Gulick law firm and the law offices of Buchanan, Williams and Stilley.
Floyd said some $750-level and $500-level hole sponsorships are still available to local businesses and professionals. She said people also may contribute by purchasing $20 tickets to the silent auction to be held at 7 p.m. the same day at the Kitchen Pass, 1212 S. Main St. There will be hors d’oeuvres and music provided by the band Sober as a Judge.
For more information, people may call (417) 782-5900. Floyd said people also may send donations or money for silent auction tickets or tournament registration fees to “Building with Justice,” 310 W. Sixth St., Joplin, MO 64801. She said people sending money must specify if it is for tickets or the tournament.
May 2011 Joplin tornado
Legal groups 'chip' in on rebuilding Joplin
- 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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Federal, state leaders salute Joplin’s recovery
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Banner from Joplin to be sent to Moore residents
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Farmers Insurance teams up with Rebuild Joplin
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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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