Moore, Oklahoma Update on Local 24 Memphis News

Thank you to Sean Parker and Local 24 for a second amazing story today! Sean did an update on the Memphis To Moore fundraiser, and my hometown of Moore, Oklahoma.

Last May, Moore was hit by an EF5 tornado that was more than 1 mile wide. It caused damage to more than 1,400 homes and 20 of the 35 Moore Public Schools buildings.

As a former student from Moore Public Schools, I felt compelled to partner up with The Westin Memphis Beale Street, and RedRover Sales & Marketing to host a fundraiser for 200 Memphians to raise funds for the schools.

We raised over $34,000 in donations, including gym equipment for my junior high school, Highland East. The equipment was donated by Karen Wilder Fitness and shipped by Big League Movers (who donated 100% of their shipping services!!). Cash raised was donated to the Moore Public Schools Tornado Relief Fund to cover the needs of teachers and students impacted by the tornado.

In all, there was $55M in total damage to the school system. The three most badly damaged properties, Plaza Towers Elementary, Briarwood Elementary, and High East Junior High, are all still under construction. Most other school properties have been repaired, and students are back in school.

For those who have asked about my parents street, one home was beyond repair and was rebuilt completely. Two others were badly damaged and are almost completed. Other repairs are complete.

Thank you to everyone who donated their time, money, and energy for the fundraiser. I appreciate all of your help and support! Moore teachers, students, and residents send their thank yous to everyone in Memphis.

Read Sean's entire story here.

View the interview below:

Thank you for making Memphis To Moore a success!

A huge thank you to everyone for making Friday night's Memphis To Moore event a huge success! We raised over $34,000 in cash and in-kind donations!
200 guests attended the event at The Westin Memphis Beale Street and had a wonderful time listening to Grace Askew from NBC's The Voice, listening to great music from The Super 5, and taking awesome photos in the Amurica photo booth!

To check out your photos, visit www.MemphisToMoore.org.

If you missed the event and would like to donate, it's not too late! Visit www.MemphisToMoore.org to donate today!

Thanks again to everyone for your support and for lending a hand to the Moore Public Schools.

Sincerely,
Angie

Cleanup in Moore

Jaclyn Allen showed the cleanup efforts in Moore.  Below is a video of her tour.

Congratulations Moore Graduates!

Moore Public Schools is holding three graduations today for their high school seniors.  Westmoore High School's graduation was this morning at 9:30 AM, Southmoore's is at 2:00 PM, and Moore's is at 6:00 PM.

Companies have generously donated caps and gowns for students to wear during the graduation ceremony.

Congratulations to all of the graduates!

Orr Family Farm requests your help

This is the family that owns the farm where I rode horses growing up.  As I mentioned in a previous blog post, Celestial Acres was completely destroyed and it's estimated that something in the neighborhood of 100 horses died there this week.

Below is a request from that family, asking for assistance with cleanup on Saturday, May 25th (tomorrow).

Here's the information that was posted on the Orr Family Farm's Facebook page.

The streets are finally open and we can accept help from volunteers. We are asking for folks who want to help us clean up to arrive at the Orr Family Farm, TOMORROW, Saturday, MAY 25 beginning at 8 a.m. Please enter the Farm from Western Avenue and park in the main parking lot.

If you would like to volunteer, we ask you please consider the following:

Place a sign on dashboard that reads "Orr Family Farm"
Bring heavy duty work gloves
Bring rakes and heavy duty brooms
Bring large trash bags or rubber storage tubs
Bring bags of ice and/or small coolers

Also, if anyone is a restauranteur and would like to help with provisions for lunch, we would love to have that help. We do have water and some light snacks, but lunch would help us and of course all of the wonderful volunteers who we expect on Saturday. If you are interested in providing lunch, please call 405.609.7068.

Once again, we can not thank you all enough for your thoughts, prayers and well-wishes during this difficult time. Thank you.

Moore Dan McGuinness on the Memphis news

This story makes me smile.  I've been wanting to share it before now, but I held off because I knew that Lauren Squires was going to cover it tonight on the WMC-TV news in Memphis. 

As folks in Moore know, there's a Dan McGuinness on 19th Street in Moore.  It was opened by a couple who are from both Moore AND Memphis.  Michele is from Memphis and Jim is from Moore.  They both used to live in Memphis and opened the bar in Moore about 7 years ago.

When they opened the bar, a number of the employees from the Dan McGuinness here went with them to open it.  They even have a table in the bar that came from the old Dan McGuinness in Downtown Memphis.

Whenever I go home, I visit this bar.  In fact, I have a friend from Memphis who I met at the Dan McGuinness in Moore when he was working in Moore.  He has since moved back to Memphis.

I've also met employees at the Dan McGuinness here in Memphis who know my high school friends.  I can only assume that they worked at the bar in Moore at some point.

Pretty cool, right?

Check out Lauren's coverage of Dan McGuinness in Moore by clicking below.

  Below is a photo of the pub that was posted on Facebook.

Oklahoma t-shirts that support the relief efforts

Lush Fashion Lounge, a store in Oklahoma City has partnered with a local designer to create a t-shirt to support the tornado survivors.  T-shirts will be $25 and 100% of the sales will go to tornado relief.

Get yours by visiting their store or by calling them.  Pre-orders are available by calling 405-936-0680.  They will ship for free!

Check out their Facebook page here.  

Verizon Wireless has stepped up to help those in Moore

Here's another story from Memphis.  Verizon Wireless has stepped into help those in Moore.  They are doing everything they can to ensure those in Moore can make calls out.  As someone who relies totally on phone service to check on my friends and family in Moore, I appreciate their help!

Here's a link to the entire story and video on the WMC-TV website.

Photo from WMCTV.com

Diana's daughter Keirstin on Channel One News

I'm so impressed with Diana's daughter Keirstin for providing a teen's perspective on the tornadoes that hit Moore.  Keirstin gives Channel One News a walk around their damaged home and a look into their neighborhood.

Here's the video of Keirstin.


As I mentioned in my earlier post, Keirstin and her mom Diana are in need of many items.  Click here to see the earlier post and the list of things they need - and where to send them. 

WMC-TV update on Moore, first tornado victim laid to rest today

Lauren Squires wrote another important story about the tragedy in Moore for the folks in Memphis.  I'm posting it here to share it with those back in Moore.

This must have been a hard story to cover, as the first funeral for a 9-year old girl was today.  There are also Red Cross volunteers from the Mid-South that are continuing to help with the cleanup in Moore.

To read Lauren's story and watch the video on the WMC-TV website, click here. I cannot thank WMC-TV enough for making these stories so personal for those impacted.

Photo from WMCTV.com

Commercial Appeal covers the devestation in Moore after tornado

The Commercial Appeal is also in Moore this week.  Tom Charlier is covering the devastation to share with those living in Memphis. 

Here's a link to the article he published yesterday on the Commercial Appeal's website.

Here's the video that the CA has posted to their site.  It is a time lapse video of the tornado in Moore.

Love's donates $3 million for disaster relief

My brother Chris e-mailed me this article this morning.  You may have seen Love's truck stops along the side of the highway when you've traveled cross country and needed gas. 

They are based on Oklahoma City and Chris started working for them earlier this year.  He was looking for a company with heart, and it looks like he got it!  He re-posted this article on his Facebook page with the comment, "Thankful to work for such a great company."

Great job Love's!

To see the original press release on the Love's website, click here. 

Love’s Travel Stops today announced a $3 million donation to support the immediate and long-term relief efforts in Oklahoma following a devastating tornado that impacted the communities of Moore, Shawnee and surrounding areas. 

The first $1 million will be designated to the OK Strong Relief Fund established yesterday by Governor Mary Fallin to meet the long-term needs of victims in partnership with the United Way of Central Oklahoma. Another donation of $500,000 will be given to Catholic Charities. The remaining $1.5 million will fund a benefit event to honor those impacted by the storm and to raise additional relief funds.

“Our company has been engrained in the fabric of Oklahoma since 1964. Our hearts are saddened by the news of this tragedy affecting so many of our friends and neighbors,” said Tom Love, Chairman and CEO. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and all those impacted by this horrific event.”

Love’s Travel Stops operates 63 stores in Oklahoma including several in close proximity to the destruction path. 

A teacher who covered students w/her own body during the tornado tells her story

Jaclyn Allen has provided additional helpful news from Moore, Oklahoma.  She talked to a teacher today who protected her students by covering them with her own body.

Here's a video:



If you would like to donate to Moore, I would encourage you to consider the Moore Public Schools.  It's teachers like this that make the school system so great.  Below is the information to donate.

The Moore Public Schools Foundation
PO Box 6100
Moore, OK 73153

Rally Moore Video - finally a little humor!

I found a great video that explains Moore, Oklahoma.  As a 6th generation Oklahoman who grew up in Moore for the first 18 years of my life, this video could not ring more true.

Big thank you to Kristy Sinsara for creating this video!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The Moore tornado's path

You've probably seen it on the news, but I wanted to share the path of the Moore tornado with you. 

The photo below shows the 17-mile path through Moore that the tornado took.  You can see I-35 running north and south near the right side of the photo.  The little red flag at the top right of the screen is my parents house.  As you can see, they were right in the middle of the damage.

If you missed my blog post yesterday, here is a video of the damage in this area.

In my previous post, I provided information on donating to those in Moore. Click here to learn more.