American Red Cross, Central Illinois Foodbank stepping up

Steven Spearie, State Journal-Register
Updated ·5 min read
American Red Cross symbol
American Red Cross symbol

Here are some resources for those affected by Thursday's storm in the central Illinois area.

Red Cross, Central Illinois Foodbank reach out

The American Red Cross has opened an emergency shelter for those affected by storms at the Springfield Branch NAACP, 801 S. 11th St.

Meals, water and Red Cross volunteers are available at the site.

Lunches and water, along with clean-up kits (tarps, gloves, totes, etc.) will be available at Plumbers, Steamfitters & HVACR Local 137, 2880 E. Cook St., at noon Sunday.

There will be a drive-up food distribution at the Central Illinois Foodbank, 1937 E. Cook St. at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Laundry service

Starting Sunday, Springfield Clinic will cover the costs of doing your laundry at All In One Laundry Center & Services, 801 S. Grand Avenue E.

Hours of participation are noon to 8:30 p.m. Sunday and 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.

For more information, call 217-544-5058.

Community grill party

Buzz Bomb Brewing Company and Beelzebunz are teaming together for a community grill at 406 E. Adams St. at 3 p.m. Sunday.

If you have meat that needs cooked or will go bad, bring down whatever you need cooked then take it with you, share it or whatever you like.

Buzz Bomb is open from 2 to 10 p.m. Sunday.

Help in Chatham

The Chatham Area Public Library, 600 E. Spruce St., will be open from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.  The library has outlets to charge devices, as well as computer access and Wi-Fi.  The library welcomes all and their children with space to socialize, play and read for all ages.

The village has a small dumpster located in Community Park near the parking lot by diamond #3, near the Dewberry Trail entrance to the park.  If you are without power and have spoiled food that needs to be disposed of and do not anticipate your normal garbage disposal to arrive for Monday service, this dumpster is available for you.

Verizon will be positioning mobile charging stations in the parking lot of Goodwill off Plummer Boulevard at 1 p.m. Sunday.  Once in place, these units will be available for any device charging needs around the clock for those without power.

Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief Team

The Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief Team is offering disaster relief services to residents of Springfield and central Illinois following Thursday's storm.

The team will primarily help clear areas on private property. They will prioritize their work based on hazards, elderly, inability to move vehicles, etc.

The team will arrive at Chatham Baptist Church, 1500 E. Walnut St., on Wednesday to start assessing the area. The saw teams will arrive on Thursday to begin work.

Anyone who has a need should email IBDRdirector@gmail.com and include a name, address, phone number and a brief description of help needed.

Paul Cummings, right, and Scott Franklin of City Water, Light and Power reattach a power line onto a house on South Ninth Street Friday, June 30, 2023. They were part of a crew out recording damage locations and fixing what they could from Thursday's storm.
Paul Cummings, right, and Scott Franklin of City Water, Light and Power reattach a power line onto a house on South Ninth Street Friday, June 30, 2023. They were part of a crew out recording damage locations and fixing what they could from Thursday's storm.

Cooling centers

Here is a list of cooling centers around Springfield. For further information, call the Office of Community Relations at 217-789-2270.

  • Municipal Center East, 800 E. Monroe St., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mon.-Fri.

  • Municipal Center West, 300 S. Seventh St. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mon.-Fri

  • Lincoln Library, 326 S. Seventh St., 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Mon.-Wed.; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thurs.-Sat.

  • Office of Community Relations, 1450 Groth St., 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Mon.-Fri.

  • St. John’s Breadline, 430 N. Fifth St., 8 to 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Mon.-Fri. (indoor dining); 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Sunday and holidays

  • Salvation Army (Main Campus), 1600 Clear Lake Ave., entrance on south side, off of Martin Luther King Drive, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Mon.-Fri.

  • Salvation Army Overflow Shelter, 221 N. 11th St., Overnight Shelter 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., 7 days a week; Day Center (88 degrees or higher), 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Mon.-Thurs.; Sat.-Sun. hours subject to staff and heat index.

  • Washington Street Mission, 408 N. Fourth St., 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 to 4:30 p.m., Mon.-Fri.

  • Helping Hands of Springfield, 1023 E. Washington St., 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Mon.-Fri.; 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sat.-Sun.

Additionally, the YMCA of Springfieldis providing its facilities as a cooling center and cell phone charging station on Sunday. Gus and Flora Kerasotes YMCA, 4550 W Iles Ave, from 8 a.m. to noon and the Downtown YMCA, 601 N. Fourth St., from 1 to 5 p.m.

Blood donations needed

Storms that moved through the ImpactLife service region led to widespread power outages and a loss of approximately 70 donations due to blood drive cancellations, missed appointments and Donor Center locations that needed to close.

“The days leading up to Fourth of July are critical because we know the rate of blood donation will decrease due to the holiday,” said Amanda Hess, vice president for donor relations and marketing. “But the hospitals and communities we serve will continue to use blood components at the same rate for patient care that cannot be delayed.”

Donors can schedule appointments by calling 800-747-5401, online at www.bloodcenter.org, or via the ImpactLife mobile app www.bloodcenter.org/app.

SNAP benefits reimbursement

SNAP recipients who lost food due to the tornadoes that struck central Illinois Thursday may be eligible for replacement benefits.

A form available at www.dhs.state.il.us needs to be completed and dropped off at or mailed to any IDHS Family Community Resource Center. Forms need to be received at an FCRC by July 9.

Help for seniors

For assistance, call AgeLinc at 217-787-9234 or 1-800-252-2918 (Toll Free) or Senior Services Center of Central Illinois at 217-528-4035 or 217-528-3882.

This story will be updated.

Contact Steven Spearie: (217) 622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: After Thursday's devastating storm in Springfield available services