SHAWNEE, Kan. — It’s been more than a year since a deadly tornado ripped through Joplin. School starts in about a month and there are still plenty of families in need.
“It takes more than a year to build a community back up,” said Janelle Coons with Nellie and Nico’s.
Coons is a business woman with a big heart who wants to do what her mother taught her.
“She always said do what’s right, do the right thing and that is what we’re trying to do,” she said.
She started a school supply drive for Joplin tornado victims in 2011. They’re collecting everything from colored pencils to notebooks.
“It reminded me of the tornado here in 2003,” said Larry Strown. “We thought we had it bad here. Seeing that, we didn’t have nothing compared to what they went through and are still going through. We just feel like we need to help.”
Nellie and Nico’s will load up a truck with the school supplies. The truck was donated by Fry and Wagner. They have offices and employees in the metro and Joplin.
“It fills 10-12,000 pounds and we would love to have it full going down there,” said Sherri Meier with Fry Wagner. “It’s important for our children. They are our future and we need to realize that.”
A letter from the Joplin School District indicates there are 4,000 children there that are in need of supplies. That’s a need owners and customers at Nellie and Nico’s Antique Mall aren’t willing to ignore.
“We just feel we are lucky and have everything we need,” Strown said. “We need to donate and help other people.”
Nellie and Nico’s will collect school supplies through next weekend. Click here to find out what supplies they need most.
