The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Tornado: Multimedia coverage

Related Photos

  • Globe/B.W.Shepherd Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel signs an autograph for 3-year-old Rush Phillips of Joplin at Parr Hill Park on Thursday.

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  • Globe/B.W.Shepherd More than 100 volunteers from the Kansas City Chiefs organization came to Joplin on Thursday to help in the cleanup efforts. They fanned out to homes around the corner of 19th and Vermont.

    062311Chiefs 7_72.jpg

  • Globe/B.W.Shepherd Tavia Hunt, wife of Kansas City Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt, hugs Allene Wallace at her home at 19th and Vermont on Thursday.

    062311Chiefs 4_72.jpg

  • Globe/B.W.Shepherd Kansas City Chiefs General Manager Scott Pioli picks up debris in a yard near 19th and Vermont on Thursday.

    062311Chiefs 1_72.jpg

  • Globe/B.W.Shepherd Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel and Mark Wilson, an Iowan and Americorps member, grab wheelbarrows to load debris at a home near 19th and Vermont on Thursday.

    062311Chiefs 5_72.jpg

  • Globe/B.W.Shepherd Travis Hogan, a grounds crew member for the Kansas City Chiefs, rakes a pile of debris in Joplin on Thursday.

    062311Chiefs 3_72.jpg

  • Globe/B.W.Shepherd Kirsten Krug, Director of Human Resorces for the Kansas City Chiefs, dumps a load of debris on Thursday in Joplin.

    062311Chiefs 2_72.jpg

Discussion

June 23, 2011

GALLERY: Chiefs arrive to help Joplin

GM Pioli: We're here for the duration

By Richard Polen Globe Sports Writer

Fun and Kansas City Chiefs football returned to Joplin for thousands of fans Thursday who patiently waited for autographs and photos of some of their favorite players.

The Chiefs, who saw some of the damage during a debris-cleanup effort Thursday morning, spent the afternoon reconnecting with their fans in the parking lot west of Forest Park Baptist Church.

“I thought it was fun because my dad is always working and we finally got to have fun,” said Seth Cummins, 9, whose red Chiefs T-shirt was covered with autographs on the back. His father, Brock, is the missions pastor for the church.

By the time the Chiefs packed their tents and inflatable playground equipment, area fans had the opportunity to meet with the team that had supplied truckloads of bottled water and other donations in the days immediately after the May 22 tornado.

“It’s amazing. They’re thanking us for coming,” said Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli. “Come on. It’s the least we can do.

“Over here, we’re just shaking hands and taking pictures. There’s such a huge swing of emotions,” he said. ”You think about whose house was this. You wonder how the people are who lived there.

“People here support us and we need to support them. In football, the way we live is very insulated. It helps us to come here and get back to reality.”

In addition to relief supplies and financial aid, the Chiefs granted $50,000 toward the staffing of a Heart to Heart medical trailer at 20th and Main streets, where volunteers sought treatment for cuts and other wounds as the debris removal effort began.

Pioli, who came to Kansas City from the New England Patriots, downplayed the significance of winning the AFC West championship last season.

“It was a step in the right direction, but there’s still a long way to go,” he said.

Among the players on hand were quarterback Matt Cassel, rookie wide receiver Jon Baldwin and linebacker Andy Studebaker.

Baldwin, the Chiefs’ first-round draft pick last spring, said he had not experienced the aftermath of a tornado or hurricane during his college career at Pittsburgh.

“We’re just trying to do what we can do to help out,” said Baldwin, who is from Aliquippa, Pa. “A lot of people came out today. We just wanted to show our appreciation back.”

Looking forward to the 2011 season, Baldwin said, “We just have to get the camaraderie and win a lot of games.”

Baldwin was among the players, coaches, executives and members of the Chiefs’ front-office staff who wore specially designed T-shirts and caps during their appearance in Joplin.

The merchandise is part of the Chiefs’ effort to help raise money for disaster victims in Missouri and Kansas. Baseball caps and T-shirts sell for $20, while performance T-shirts sell for $22 through the Chiefs’ Online Pro Shop at kcchiefs.com beginning July 1.

“It lets people know there’s still a need — a need for volunteers and donations,” said Misty Frost, director of Mission Joplin at the church. “This was really fun, but it hasn’t been just the Chiefs. It has been like this every day, whether it’s a church group or a youth group. Every state has been represented.”

The Chiefs spent the morning in different ways. Some removed debris that remains a month after the storm in the yards of homes. Some served as personal shoppers, helping tornado victims find the relief supplies they needed, Frost said.

“Every Joplin kid has been affected,” she said. “Just to have fun for our kids is crucial.”

Camp Hope Joplin, which had been scheduled before the storm, is designed to address some of those needs, she said. The camp is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon July 2 at the Field of Dreams, one mile east of Seventh Street and Duquesne Road.

“We’re it in for the long haul,” she said. “We’re committed to Joplin for the duration.”

The Chiefs’ efforts will continue as well, Pioli said.

“We’ve donated water. We’ve donated cash,” he said. “We have a plan. This will be sustained.”

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Tornado: Multimedia coverage