Here’s how to help tornado victims in Western Kentucky. Ways to volunteer, donate.

As recovery continues for Western Kentucky tornadoes and storm victims, organizations and people are looking to help out Kentuckians who were affected.

The governor thanked those who have helped across the country in a press conference Monday. He told Western Kentucky storm victims that everyone in Kentucky and in the country is standing with them.

“To the people of Western Kentucky, we’re not going anywhere,” Beshear said. “We’re going to be with you today. We’re going to be with you tomorrow and we’re going to be there with you to rebuild.”

Kentuckians who want to help cities and counties affected by Friday and early Saturday morning tornadoes should donate blood, which is in short supply, and give money toward relief efforts, Beshear and local officials said

“Go give blood,” said Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon. Warren was one of the many Kentucky counties hit hard by tornadoes. “Please stay off the roads. Let police, firefighters do their jobs.”

How to donate blood in Kentucky

Beshear said many Kentucky hospitals are treating storm victims and need more blood. Blood supplies have run dangerously low throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

To find a blood donation center in your area, go to the Red Cross Blood Center website at redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/how-to-donate/eligibility-requirements.html and type in your zip code.

Or go to the Kentucky Blood Center website at kybloodcenter.org or Blood Assurance website at bloodassurance.org. Fazoli’s will give a free small spaghetti to people who donate blood at Andover Blood Center and the Beaumont Blood Center in Lexington Monday to Saturday.

How to donate to Western Kentucky Relief, Red Cross

Beshear announced the creation of Team Western Kentucky Relief Fund on Saturday to collect donations for victims of the tornadoes and storms. The fund will go directly to Kentucky tornado victims with no administrative fees taken out. Go to teamwkyrelieffund.ky.gov to donate. To mail in a donation, send check to Public Protection Cabinet, 500 Mero Street, 218 NC, Frankfort, KY 40601, with a note “Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund.” As of mid-day Tuesday, more than 66,000 people donated more than $9.89 million to the fund, according to the governor.

Beshear said spending of the fund will be “fully transparent.” The first expenditure of the fund will be $5,000 to go to burial expenses for each family that lost a loved one during the storms.

Kroger, Vincent Fister Moving & Storage, the Rotary Club of Lexington, Lexington Christian Academy, The Brokerage, and Commerce Lexington are forming an alliance to collect basic items for those impacted by the tornadoes. Bottled water, baby formula, diapers, nonperishable food items, flashlights, batteries, work/utility gloves, new socks, new undergarments and toiletry items can be dropped off at the following locations from Thursday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Beaumont Centre Kroger: 3175 Beaumont Centre Circle
• Man-O-War Kroger: 3101 Richmond Road
• Millpond Center Kroger: 3650 Boston Road
• Tates Creek Kroger: 4101 Tates Creek Centre Drive

The Kentucky Distillers’ Association is partnering with Bourbon Crusaders and Bourbon curator Fred Minnick on a Bourbon auction to benefit the Western Kentucky tornado relief fund. The Kentucky Bourbon Benefit will feature an online and live auction of exclusive private barrel selection experiences, rare and vintage spirits, and unique tasting and tourism offerings from Kentucky’s signature distilling industry and hospitality and charitable partners. The online auction will begin 5 p.m. Thursday and run until 10 p.m. Tuesday. The live-streamed auction will be at 7 p.m. next Tuesday. Proceeds will go to Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund.

Catlettsburg singer and The Voice contestant Holly Forbes will have a “Songs 4 Kentucky” Facebook livestream at 9 p.m. Wednesday and donate all her tips to the state’s Western KY Tornado relief fund.

Kentuckians can donate to the Red Cross, which is currently mobilizing in many Western Kentucky counties, by going to redcross.org/local/kentucky. Donations can be directed to Kentucky relief efforts or to particular Kentucky counties.

University of Kentucky Athletics hosted “Kentucky United for Tornado Relief” telethon Tuesday and raised $3 million to the American Red Cross.

Musician and Louisville native Jack Harlow announced on Twitter Monday he and KFC donated $250,000 to the Red Cross.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is collecting disaster relief funds to help people affected by the recent tornado outbreak. Donations can be made at pma.pcusa.org/donate/make-a-gift/gift-info/OG999999 or by calling (800) 872-3283.

Other funds to help Western Kentuckians

Nine Bojangles restaurants in Kentucky will be donating some of its proceeds to tornado victims in western Kentucky, according to the restaurant.

Here are the restaurants participating.

• Bowling Green - 133 Three Springs Road
• Corbin – 1858 Cumberland Falls Highway
• Frankfort - 1239 Highway 127 South
• Franklin - 919 S. Main St.
• Georgetown - 1155 Lexington Road
• London – 159 South Laurel Road
• Shelbyville – 150 Mortown Way
• Shepherdsville - 215 Conestoga Parkway
• Versailles - 263 Kroger Way

20 percent of the sales from Saturday and Sunday will be given to the American Red Cross Kentucky Region Chapter in support of tornado relief efforts.

Kentucky Sports Radio and the Kentucky Chamber Foundation partnered up to created a KSR Tornado Relief Fund. To donate, go to kychamber.com/ksrtornadorelief or mail a check made out to Kentucky Chamber Foundation to 464 Chenault Rd. Frankfort, KY 40601 with ATTN to the Tornado Relief Fund. The fund has raised more than $300,000 as of Tuesday Wednesday morning. Kentucky Chamber also made a resource page for other ways to help.

Together, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, the Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation, and the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment Cooperative Extension are raising funds for agriculture-related recovery efforts. Donations can be made to the Kentucky Agriculture Relief Fund at gofundme.com/KyAgReliefFund. The funds will be administered through a grant process.

Community Foundation of West Kentucky, based out of Paducah, is also accepting donations through its Disaster Relief Fund. Donors can also mail a check to Community Foundation of West Kentucky, CFWK Disaster Relief Fund, P.O. Box 7, Paducah, KY 42001 or drop off donations at US Bank Building, 333 Broadway, Suite 503, Paducah.

United Way of Kentucky set up a Disaster Recovery Fund with 100% of donations going to support Kentucky families in need.

The Salvation Army is collecting donations to help with victims of the tornadoes. All donations go to relief efforts.

Nonprofit CARE is collecting donations to provide water, food, shelter and cash assistance to families in need through a Tornado Emergency Fund.

University of Kentucky’s Basic Needs and Persistence Fund will donate contributions to student who were impacted by the storms.

Phocus, a beverage company, has partnered with Kroger and ESPN Louisville to collect funds. ESPN Louisville will broadcast live and collect monetary donations from listeners on-air and in-person on Wednesday at Kroger Stony Brook in Louisville. Phocus is matching the first $10,000 in listener donations and provide more than 5,000 cases of Phocus sparkling water. To donate, please visit drinkphocus.com/relief or through Venmo @PhocusRelief. Funds collected will go to support the Mayfield Graves County Tornado Relief Fund that has been established through Independence Bank and the Muhlenberg County Long Term Disaster Relief fund.

GoFundMe pages set up for donations

Several GoFundMe pages have been set up to help with tornado relief in Mayfield. Mayfield resident Steven Elder, who recently chaired Fancy Fair, is collecting donations for the Mayfield Community Foundation through GoFundMe or by checks sent to First Kentucky Bank c/o Mayfield Community Foundation. The fund has collected more than $305,000.

Wisconsin Badgers basketball player Chris Vogt started a GoFundMe to help his hometown of Mayfield.

University of Kentucky College of Medicine student Abbigayle Rawls, of Bowling Green, also created a GoFundMe page to collect donations for families impacted. The fund has already raised more than $123,000 as of Wednesday morning.

Kentucky Restaurant Association set up a GoFundMe to collect donations to distribute to restaurants affected by the storms. The fund, organized by Stacy Roof of Louisville, has collected more than $13,500 as of Wednesday morning.

Kentucky Teachers in The Know is packing a bus, by requesting donations through GoFundMe of $1 from their 24,000 members to go to public schools impacted by the tornadoes.

Kyanna Parsons-Perez, the woman whose Facebook Live video taken under the rubble of the Mayfield candle factory made national news, is requesting funds through GoFundMe to replace her vehicle that was totaled in the tornado.

How to volunteer

Kentucky State Police is asking those who want to volunteer after the Western Kentucky tornado to call 270-331-1979, and those who want to donate to call 270-297-7772 or 270-331-0945.

They ask for volunteers and donors not to call the Kentucky State Police, Post 1 Dispatch or 911 to leave the lines open for those needing assistance.

Bowling Green Fire Department also asked those who want to volunteer to send it a Facebook message with their name, type of assistance they can offer and contact info, instead of calling their fire stations.

Kentucky Division of Emergency Management directed volunteers to call 311 or fill out a survey on its website.

Graves County Office of Emergency Management has a sign-up form for volunteers to assist with food and supplies, equipment or machinery, communications, search and rescue, medical help, and electrical or plumbing. They can also call 270-727-5114. Graves County Fiscal Court Facebook page posted additional ways to help. Paducah Police Department asked for volunteers to call 270-444-8509 or visit 1400 Broadway St., Paducah to help with efforts in Graves County.

Beshear said Kentucky State Parks Kenlake in Hardin, Lake Barkley in Cadiz, Kentucky Dam Village in Gilbertsville and Rough River Dam in Rough will need volunteers to staff the parks and help with washing dishes and clothes. Contact Andy Kasitz of Kentucky State Parks at 502-418-3581 or andy.kasitz@ky.gov. The state parks are also accepting donations.

The communities of Mayfield/Graves County and Benton/Marshall County need translators. Translators can fill out contact information and availability in this form.

Woodsongs is collecting donated instruments to replace those lost or damaged in the Western Kentucky tornado. To donate an instrument, email radio@woodsongs.com with “TORNADO” in the subject and include instruments and contact information. Woodsongs is also collecting donations to repair instruments through PayPal via WFPA@woodsongs.com or woodsongs.com/Tornado.

U.S. Senate Candidate Charles Booker has created a sign-up for those who want to help victims at charlesbooker.org/relief.

Appalachians for Appalachian created a spreadsheet for mutual aids and giving lists, which is regularly updated.

Forward Kentucky also has complied a list by county of how to help.

How to donate supplies or services

Kentucky Emergency Management asked organizations or companies that would like to donate services or products to call 502-697-6600.

First Lady Britainy Beshear announced Monday that Western Kentucky Toy Drive is accepting donations of toys, book, electronics and $25 VISA or Mastercard gift cards for kids aged infant to teens. All items should be new, unwrapped and in original packaging. No clothes is needed currently. The drive will run from Tuesday to Saturday. Regional state police posts and police stations in Independence, Lexington, Louisville and Paducah, along with Kenton County Government Center and Broadbent Arena will accept donations. More Lexington locations will be announced Tuesday. For information about drop-off locations or where to send mail-in donations, go to firstlady.ky.gov/toydrive.

She said more information about how the toys will be distributed will come later this week and thanked her No. 1 partner, Santa Claus.

“I know our people are going to come together to make toys for Team Western Kentucky an incredible success,” she said. “As Kentuckians, we come together when times are tough, we look out for each other and no matter the challenges we face, we will get through it together.”

Toys can be purchased on Amazon and sent directly to a donation site.

The College of Health and Human Services at WKU will be collecting gift cards to donate to tornado victims at the AHEC Office of the CHEC Dean’s Office. Gift cards will be accepted until 2 p.m. Thursday.

Lexington will open a donation center to help Western Kentucky. The center, at Consolidated Baptist Church, 1625 Russell Cave Rd., will be open 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Items that can be donated include large plastic storage containers with lids, large trash bags, flashlights with new batteries, LED lanterns, new and empty gasoline cans, pull-ups for toddlers, horse feed, new space heaters and new kerosene heaters. Visit lexingtonky.gov/tornadorelief for other ways to help.

Eastern Kentucky schools are collecting donated items through Wednesday to send to families and students in Western Kentucky. Each school district has a specific items, which include toys, personal hygiene items, blankets and water, that can be dropped off at the schools.

Mayfield Independent Schools is accepting letters and cards of encouragement for its students. Send mail to 914 East College Street, Mayfield, KY 42066.

University of Kentucky College of Medicine is also collecting supplies, including blankets, socks, underwear, gently used clothes and coats, OTC medications, baby wipes and more. Donations areas are set up at Bowling Green campus student lounge, Lexington campus Student Affairs conference room and North Kentucky student lounge.

The Office of Fayette County Sheriff is accepting donations. Items accepted are bottled water and Gatorade, individually packed non-perishable food items, paper towels, toilet paper, large trash bags, cleaning supplies, disposable gloves, masks, first aid supplies, flashlights and batteries. Items can be dropped off at the Office of Fayette County Sheriff in the Fayette District Court Building through Sunday.

Bowling Green information

Authorities in Bowling Green set up a site for people to report damage and debris and get information on road safety, shelters, donations and other issues. It is wearebgstrong.com.

Connecting victims with help

Several Facebook group have popped up to connect victims of the Western Kentucky storms with help, missing family members and lost items

Storm Damage 12.10.21, created by Joy-Blake Zeiter of Benton, has hundreds of posts from victim’s family members asking for help finding those still missing, sharing information about donations and offering places to stay, clothes, food and more.

Quad State Tornado Found Items posts photos, important documents and paintings that were picked up by the tornadoes and found miles away to attempt to return them back to its owner. The member’s post also ask for specific help or ways to donate items.

This story was originally published December 13, 2021 at 4:25 PM.