It has been three weeks since the powerful derecho devastated people all across Iowa. Since then people have been coming up with ways to help their neighbors recover.
Two women from Marion have been been selling "Iowa Strong" t-shirts and decals online and the response has been great. "We put it out there, you know, who would be interested and we had so many people interested in t-shirts,” Brooke Schmidt tells KCRG-TV 9.
Schmidt is working with Jeni Crawford, who came up with the design for the shirts and decals.
“It’s got corn, because that all went flat. And then it had power lines because all of that went flat,” Jeni tells KCRG-TV 9.
Brooke saw the design on Facebook and connected with Jeni to begin helping those impacted by storm damage.
“I couldn’t lift the logs off the people houses, I can’t do that kind of stuff, but I can get behind the computer and do what I can to help other people,” Schmidt says.
A printing company is making the shirts at cost and so far the women have already sold almost 1,000 shirts and 250 decals, raising thousands of dollars.
Their ‘Iowa Strong’ design keeps all Iowans in mind. “We have the black and gold, the red and gold, and the purple and gold to represent all the three universities,” Brooke says.
The money raised is going to the nonprofit, Iowa Giving Crew. They tell KCRG-TV 9 all of the donations they receive goes right back into the community to provide warm meals and help those hardest hit in their recovery.
You can find out more about their effort by contacting Jeni Crawford or Brooke Schmidt on Facebook.
(Image courtesy of KCRG-TV 9)