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Cleveland police officer Justin Baldwin took this photo of damage during a run to deliver supplies last week.
Residents and emergency workers recovering from devastation caused by deadly tornadoes Dec. 10 in Western Kentucky recently had some support from White County.
As many throughout the region moved swiftly to provide aid to the affected communities, Cleveland police officer Justin Baldwin and Farmhouse Coffee owners Stephen and Marilyn Martin were among those determined to help.
Baldwin, a Kentucky native, said his family members who still live in the state were unscathed by the tornadoes. He wanted to do something for the people that were affected by the storm in his former home of Hopkins County, where 17 resident perished.
Baldwin planned to take a carload of supplies to Kentucky to donate for the relief efforts. He told his Cleveland Police Department coworkers about his idea Monday, Dec. 13, before he planned to leave. What he never expected was the outpouring of generosity that followed from the community.
As word of his plan spread beyond the police department, strangers started donating money supplies and their time to the cause.
Baldwin received donations of water bottles, juice, Gatorade, snacks and large cans of vegetables and soup. He also received a substantial amount of monetary donations.
The officer also checked to see what was needed most in Kentucky.
“They needed medicine, especially like children’s medicine,” Baldwin said. “I had monetary donations around close to four or five hundred dollars, so I went and bought four or five hundred dollars worth, or maybe a little bit more, of children’s Motrin, ibuprofen, things like that.”
By last Thursday, Baldwin had to remove seats out of a 15-passenger van to load the donations for transport in a weekend trip.
“It’s a police department van that’s used to transport prisoners to and from the prison,” said Baldwin. “It wasn’t being used. So with the [police] chief’s permission and the mayor and city council’s permission, I was able to take it up there.”
Baldwin stayed in Kentucky for three days over the rainy weekend last week. He was able to help load and unload supplies at a collection point in his hometown of Madisonville.
Baldwin was blown away by the amount of generosity that was pouring into the county.
“I talked to some of the administrators of this county. I talked to the sheriff and some of the county officials. They said there are multiple semi-trucks that are waiting to come in, but the county just doesn’t have the logistical capabilities to handle 10, 20, 30 trucks full of donations to come in. So people are being very generous and a lot of people have felt a calling to do something” Baldwin said.
Around the same time, Stephen Martin and his wife, Marilyn, of Farmhouse Coffee in Cleveland, were traveling to Mayfield, Kentucky, to help those dealing with the destruction.
They decided to use a coffee truck Stephen Martin had just constructed for mobile service. The Martins arrived last Thursday afternoon and went straight to the Mayfield Consumer Products factory where several died.
Unfortunately, rain had caused volunteer workers to stop cleanup efforts at the time. The Martins contacted emergency management officials to find where they could best serve members of the community.
Mayfield High School has been turned into a distribution center to provide essentials for families affected by the tornado. The Martins decided that would be the best place to set up their truck to reach people.
Word spread across the town, and they were able to serve families, volunteers, firefighters, teachers and members of the National Guard.
Martin estimates they served about 400 drinks over a day and a half. Many of the people they served hadn’t had coffee in days and were so happy to see their tuck.
A member of the National Guard told the Martins that they made their lives feel normal again.
“It’s like a cup of coffee changed their whole day, their whole life,” said Martin.
The Martins wanted to stay longer but had to return since this trip was spur of the moment. They said they would like to plan another trip soon so they can bring their children and stay for at least three days.