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Dear Friend, Last Sunday’s tornado raced through North Minneapolis in a matter of minutes, but it left a broad swath of devastation behind it, tragically taking one life during the storm and another the day after, and leaving thousands of people frightened, without somewhere to go and uncertain about where to turn. If you live in North Minneapolis and need housing immediately, the Red Cross shelter has just moved to the North Commons recreation center at 1801 James Ave. N. If you have needs beyond or other than shelter, the Disaster Recovery Center is now open and is open through the long weekend at Farview Park. There you can pick up basic supplies and get help with a wide variety of services. We will keep both centers open as long as we need to until people’s lives are firmly on the road to recovery. Amid the pain and confusion, though, this week North Minneapolis has also shown its deeply-rooted strength. On every block I’ve been to, I’ve seen people checking on their neighbors, lending each other a hand and sharing what they had, even when their own, personal needs were great. This is a neighborhood of strength and heart. No matter where you live, if you want to help, we want your help, because this city that is filled with heart needs the hands of everyone in the region to help rebuild. The largest volunteer effort weve ever seen, the Great Northside Volunteer Clean-Up, is happening on Saturday, June 4. In fact, we’re going to need the help of 2,000 people. That’s a lot of hands, but all you need to do to lend yours is call Minneapolis 311 and tell us you want to help. But you must call 311 to volunteer: we can’t accept your help if you don’t, so please call today. (311 is staying open this Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. to take your calls. They’ll be closed Monday for the holiday but will reopen on Tuesday.) We’ve made progress: so far, over 3,000 volunteers, working alongside crews from the City, utility companies and many other jurisdictions, have cleared 1,700 truckloads of debris. As a result, now all our streets are passable and everyone’s power has been restored. We’re very grateful for their efforts, and we hope that one last, big pass on Saturday, June 4 will clear out the last of the debris. State and federal emergency-management crews are also on the ground helping us assess the full extent of damage, which we hope will qualify us for additional aid. We are very grateful for all of those efforts. If you cant volunteer but still want to help, please consider a financial contribution to one of these funds, both of which have been set up with the help of the Minneaoplis foundation: Minnesota HELPS—North Minneapolis Recovery Fund supports immediate humanitarian relief, and Northside Home Fund—Tornado Relief is specifically designed to support housing-recovery and rebuilding efforts. You can donate online. To stay current on the latest news on tornado relief, news about tornado relief, please check the Citys regularly updated tornado relief webpage. Sincerely,
Mayor R.T. Rybak
P.S. To learn more about how Im working to address the issues affecting our city, sign up for my e-mail update , check out my website or follow my blog. |
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Published May. 27, 2011