Students to help victims of tornadoes

More than 100 Southeast Missouri State University students will head to Washington, Ill., on Saturday to help the town recover from the EF4 tornado that hit it Sunday.

Nick Maddock, president of the interfraternity council, which oversees all the fraternities at Southeast and treasurer of Student Government, said the group is leaving about 6:30 a.m. Saturday and will return to Cape Girardeau about 10 p.m. Sunday.

Initially, Maddock asked his Lamda Chi Alpha fraternity brothers to go with him, and about 10 "jumped on board." Through social media, it snowballed with other fraternities and non-Greek students joining in.

Donations of $3,500 have come in so far, he said. Funds will be used to send the group to Washington and pay for their hotel accommodations. Leftover proceeds will be donated to an organization that's on the ground in Washington helping, Maddock said.

The students are working through an organization called Team Rubicon.

"They're pretty much going to have all sorts [of things] for us to do," Maddock said, including distribution of supplies, cleanup and search-and-find. For example, if someone wants to find an item in their home, someone in the group will try to retrieve it for them.

Donations are still needed, Maddock said, and will be accepted at tinyurl.com/semoservicedonation. Maddock previously organized cleanup efforts in Sunset Hill, Mo., a few years ago and two trips to Joplin, Mo., after a deadly tornado in May 2011, but those groups had about 20 people each. For this venture, he's appointed 25 to 26 cohort leaders who will be in charge of four to six people each.

The experience in Joplin, Maddock said, was "life-changing."

"To see those families, the fact that they had lost everything, but they weren't really down. They were just so happy to have their lives and their families and hearing their uplifting stories. It really was a life-changing experience," Maddock said.

Meanwhile, at the Kelly School District in Benton, Mo., head football coach Kenneth Riedinger gathered 30 to 35 of his players to help clean a couple of nearby houses and a field Wednesday. Riedinger said they planned to go back Thursday, but there was too much going on.

Riedinger said damage to the Benton area was "substantial."

He said his players helped with cleanup efforts a couple of years ago when a tornado hit Diehlstadt, Mo.

"We went and cleaned it up for several days in the summer. It's just gotten to the point where if something happens, we go and help if we can. I know I always want to go and help; my boys are always ready and willing to run. We can clean more up in an hour than a lot of people can in a day just because they're so young and their backs are strong," Riedinger said.

If someone needs help, they can post a message on the Kelly Hawks Football Facebook page at tinyurl.com/mfxwfuz.

"Their hearts are definitely in the right place," Riedinger said of his players. And although several communities make up the Kelly School District, they consider themselves one.

"We just want people to get help," he said.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

388-3639

Pertinent address: One University Plaza, Cape Girardeau

Kelly School District, 4035 State Highway 77, Benton, Mo.