Out of the Rubble - Helping Hackleburg Elementary School

Teachers from my school collected TONS of supplies for a school in need

Earlier this week a few friends and I drove a 16 ft rental truck packed full of donations to Hackleburg Elementary School.  The town of Hackleburg was devastated by an F5 tornado on April 27, 2011.   It is my understanding that the winds recorded in Hackelburg on that day were the strongest ever recorded by the National Weather Service (over 200 MPH).   A majority of the structures in the town were destroyed including the the facilities of the town's largest employer, Wrangler.  Every structure in the 'downtown' area has been condemned and must be torn down.  All but two of the town's churches are gone.  Every structure on the campuses of both the elementary school and high school were destroyed.

The town was already suffering economically before the storm.  According to Ann West, Assistant Superintendent for Marion County Schools:  "Hackleburg Elementary has a free and reduced lunch percentage of 72%.  Our unemployment rate is around 14%.  We expect these rates to climb since 30 out of 31 businesses in Hackleburg were destroyed.  Our students were in need before the tornado and now the need is much greater."

We met the Principal of Hackleburg Elementary School, Joan Baker, at a warehouse in the nearby town of Hamilton.  A local factory had donated the space for the school to store donated items.  From the minute we met Joan, she was smiling from ear to ear - such a positive spirit.  The warehouse was already filled with many boxes of donated items -- pencils, backpacks, books, old desks, even a tiny sofa.  As we began to unload, Joan began to tell us the story of her community.  This woman and her school have been put through the wringer -- much more than most folks could imagine....and she's still smiling.  We learned that of the 16 people killed in Hackleburg on that day not a single student, teacher or parent was among them.   We learned that the space designated as a "tornado safe area" in the school (see below) was piled with rubble after the storm passed -- luckily school was canceled for the day.  We learned that the community had pulled together in ways that you would expect if you were from a small town.  We learned that the town's primary employer was completely destroyed and might possibly not rebuild -- leaving the future of the entire community in question.

After unloading, Joan drove us 20 minutes north of the warehouse into Hackleburg.  Words cannot describe what we saw.   I have included a few pictures below.


While HES as collected many boxes of donations from across the nation, they need so much more.  When I asked Joan what they needed more than anything else, she said money.  In the coming weeks, they will be going through the piles of donations and sorting them to know exactly what they have.  Once they know what they need, they will need money on hand to purchase these items.  If you would like to make a donation click here.  Please be sure to designate your donations for Hackleburg Elementary School.

UPDATE:  On Friday, July 29 a group of teachers, former students and friends from church traveled back to Hackleburg to help organize the donations warehouse.  We were able to get things set up so that they could be transferred to the new temporary building the following week.  On a personal note, it was pretty cool to see student who I had taught in preschool and kindergarten all grown up and helping out the folks in Hackleburg.

Update #2:  A friend from church donated 15 large bookcases for the library at Hackleburg Elementary School.  We delivered them just a few days before school started.

These are pictures of the piles of donated items received from
around the state and across the nation



Hackleburg Elementary School Principal -- Joan Baker




My buddy Kage and me -- A bit sweaty after unloading the truck on a HOT July day



The "new" Hackleburg Elementary and High School - the school will be in portables
for the next few years until rebuilding can take place

This is the K-4 Building

Looking into a kindergarten classroom

This is the central hallway of the K-4 building --  this hallway is where children would have been taken during a severe weather event if school were in session. 

This is a closeup of the Kindergarten classroom from a previous picture

This is a view from the front of the school building looking toward the 'downtown area' (near the water tower).        

Before April 27 this area will heavily forested and teaming with homes -- now it is an empty field.