A Community That Cares: UK Continues Support for Western Kentucky Tornado Victims

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 7, 2021) — In December 2021, tornadoes unleashed destruction throughout Kentucky. Lives were lost. Homes were destroyed. Businesses were demolished and forced to close. 

But in the aftermath of this record-breaking tornado outbreak, Kentuckians stepped up in extraordinary ways to help their neighbors, whether they knew them or not.  

Many University of Kentucky faculty, staff, students and alumni are part of the tornado recovery efforts taking place throughout the state –– demonstrating how we are a community that steps up to meet the moment and care for each other, even in the most challenging circumstances.  

Last month, we shared several stories about how the UK family is supporting those impacted by the storms:

• College of Medicine students in Bowling Green mobilized a donation drive for people in Mayfield and Bowling Green impacted by the storms. In addition to donating supplies and food items, they’ve raised over $160,000. 
• UK student-athletes and coaches helped raise over $3 million through the “Kentucky United for Tornado Relief” telethon, with all  proceeds going to the American Red Cross to benefit victims.
• UK Cooperative Extension Service agents and officials with the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment — our hometown heroes of hope — rallied to work in counties in the region to provide support, even as they dealt with damages to critical UK facilities in Western Kentucky.
• When the storms took down vital communication networks, UK Extension also helped get the region’s first responders and emergency management officials back online by partnering with Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet constellation.
• Alumni from the College of Education, who are now teachers in Western Kentucky, volunteered to support children impacted by the storms.
• A UK HealthCare nurse anesthetist traded in his scrubs for boots and spent Christmas Day in Mayfield, both bringing supplies donated by the UK Department on Anesthesiology and volunteering to manage other incoming supplies to the area.

These are just a few examples of how the UK community stepped up during the immediate aftermath of the storms. But this work is far from over. The damage will take months, if not years, to recover from.

This spring, UKNow will continue sharing some of the many stories of how the UK family is helping their fellow Kentuckians as they work to rebuild their communities — and ways you can continue to help.

If you know of a UK family member helping Kentucky tornado victims, please share that information here.  

The university also continues to support students and employees directly impacted by the tragic storms. UK students facing financial challenges because of the storm damage should complete the UK Center for Support and Intervention (CSI) referral form to be connected with a Student Success team member who can talk through available crisis-related financial resources and other basic needs support. Please check the box for "Acute financial need related to December 11th storm damage" and in the open box, please describe your financial needs as it relates to the storm. For help completing this form or other questions related to this process, call 859-218-SAFE.

As a reminder, the Counseling Center (www.uky.edu/counselingcenter) is available to help support you during this time; after hours and weekend phone consultation is available by dialing 859-257-8701 and pressing '1' at the prompt.

For more general questions, calls can be directed to UK Health Corps at 859-218-SAFE.