Recovery fund raises more than $500,000 for victims of Rocky Mount area tornado
It’s been nearly 11 weeks since an EF3 tornado damaged more than 100 homes and businesses in the Rocky Mount area.
Organizers say after a slow start, the area’s largest relief fund has now raised more than $500,000 for victims of the storm.
On July 19, Michael Poythress’s home in the town of Dortches was caught in the path of a historic EF3 tornado. He tried to take shelter in the bathroom with his wife.
“I was holding onto her and the dog,” Poythress said. “The house came apart about ten seconds after we went into it.”
Within moments, their home was reduced to a field of debris.
“We lost everything down to the can opener in the kitchen,” Poythress said. “There was nothing left.”
Following the tornado, aid groups across the Rocky Mount area took action.
“The day the storm hit, we knew we needed to set up a special fund,” United Way Tar River Region executive director Ginny Mohrbutter said.
That week, the United Way and Rocky Mount Chamber of Commerce launched the Twin Counties Tornado Relief Fund, aiming to help victims recover from the damage.
Their goal was to raise $500,000. Initially, donations came in at a trickle.
“I think with any fund you have to get it set up and you have to get it out to the community, so it started a little slow,” Mohrbutter said.
Organizers said after a WRAL News story highlighted their need to raise more money, donations doubled in a single day – and are still going strong nearly three months later.
They’ve now raised more than $530,000 for victims of the storm.
“So, we have distributed just under $300,000 of that, and I’m proud that we’ve been able to help in a variety of ways,” Mohrbutter said.
The United Way told WRAL News the money has helped clear debris and repair homes, as well as to provide short-term financial help to Pfizer employees whose plant was heavily damaged by the tornado.
They’ve also helped replace homes that were total losses: After months of relying on family for support, Poythress and his wife will finally move back into their own home next week.
“If it hadn’t been for United Way, we would’ve never been able to buy another one, never,” Poythress said.
United Way is still taking donations to the Twin Counties Tornado Relief Fund.
