Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund provides $500,000 for latest project, $5.4 million in total support for The Hope Initiative
MAYFIELD, Ky. (Aug. 4, 2023) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman joined local leaders from The Hope Initiative to give five Mayfield families keys to new homes as the community continues to recover from the December 2021 tornadoes and recent historic flooding.
The Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund provided $500,000 to help build these five homes and has supported The Hope Initiative’s building projects with $5.4 million total. Kroger provided “Welcome Home” kits for each family, which included food and cleaning supplies.
“It’s incredibly special to be back in Mayfield today, celebrating with five more families as they get the keys to forever homes,” Gov. Beshear said. “I want to thank The Hope Initiative for their tireless work, every donor to the Team Western Kentucky Relief Fund who helped make this possible and Kroger for donating ‘Welcome Home’ kits with food and supplies for each family. Mayfield has such a bright future, and we will be here every step of the way as they keep moving forward.”
“The Hope Initiative continues to serve the needs of our community throughout the recovery process because of the kindness and generosity of so many partners. In our long-term efforts, the biggest need continues to be housing solutions for renters whose homes were lost or destroyed by the tornado,” said His House Ministries Lead Pastor Stephen Boyken, who serves as president of The Hope Initiative. “While we are celebrating progress today with the dedication of five more homes, there still remains a long path ahead of us on the road to recovery. We are grateful for the commitment to rebuild and the continued support of Gov. Beshear’s office. The financial support from the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund is allowing us to put the pieces and the people of our community back together one home at a time.”
“We’re honored to join in the celebration of the families moving into their homes,” said Kroger spokesperson Jessica Sharp. “Filled with food, toiletries and supplies needed to get started, these donations from Kroger are our way of saying a well-deserved ‘Welcome Home’ to our neighbors.”
Launched just days after the tornadoes in December 2021, the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund has raised over $52 million with donations from over 150,000 individuals and businesses. The money raised helped pay funeral expenses for the families of the deceased and provided assistance to survivors as well as local farmers. The remaining funds will be used to build houses. Visit TeamWKYReliefFund.ky.gov for more information.
In April 2022, through nonpartisan work with the General Assembly, Gov. Beshear also established the $120 million Western Kentucky State Aid Funding for Emergencies, or SAFE, Fund to assist with tornado recovery.
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