On Thursday, August 10 United Way of Southern Kentucky (UWSK) held a Tornado RecoveryFund announcement at the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce. United Way announced $2,243,500 in recovery funding to three local entities. Prior to today’s announcement, $1,129,500 had been disbursed to meet the many needs of tornado victims.
The first of the funding announcements was for housing with two nonprofit agencies receiving support. United Wayprovided a total investment of $1,150,000 for Habitat for Humanity with $150,000 going towards a storm shelter, and $1,000,000 to aid in construction of ten units for tornado impacted individuals. In response to the funding, Rodney Goodman with Habitat for Humanity stated, “We are grateful to be able to partner with UWSK to bring relief to our community through affordable housing. The December ‘21 storms not only did significant damage to our community, but they further revealed the affordable housing crisis we have in our community. Since the storm, we have begun construction on 20 new affordable homes and this funding will help us to complete another 10 homes. Thanks to the UWSK and the generous members of our community for making this work possible,” said Rodney Goodman.
The second housing related investment was for the Housing Authority of Bowling Green. The funding of$750,000 will provide six single-family homes. Abraham Williams of the Housing Authority of BG stated, “The Housing Authority of Bowling Green is excited to collaborate with United Way to offer homeownership opportunities to those affected by the December 2021 tornados. By working together, we hope to create a more sustainable future for impacted residents to help them achieve their long-term housing goals.”
The final announcement was for a park in the Jennings Creek area. With ongoing efforts to build a greater community, the vision is to redeem a place of hurt and heartache and create happy memories for years to come.To make this vision a reality, UWSK is investing $343,500 in the newly proposed Jennings Creek Park. The park will be unique through being integrated into its surroundings to create Bowling Green’s first natural playground. The park will also include a natural design Born Learning Trail to support United Way’s work in kindergarten readiness. “The parks are the heart of our community, and the greenways are the artery that lead to the parks system. United Way’s donation is a gift that will continue giving for generations,” Mayor Todd Alcott said.
President and CEO Debbie Hills of United Way of Southern Kentucky said,
“It is the astounding generosity of others, both locally and nationally, that are making these investments possible. We received donations from all over the world and from 49 states, as well as thousands of local donations from individuals and organizations that we partner with. We are grateful for every contributor to the United Way of Southern Kentucky Tornado Recovery Fund which enabled us to offer assistance to hundreds of tornado victims to help them fully recover from the devasting impact that the tornado had and is now also funding these the hope-filled major impact projects in our community.”
