Days after an estimated EF-3 tornado devastated the Fox Cities, neighboring communities are stepping up to donate — going beyond the basics to bring comfort items to survivors.
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Eight local businesses in Manitowoc have turned Printed Productions LLC into a drop-off site, with their first load of supplies headed to Menasha Thursday.
Geoffrey Wolf, owner of Wolfpack HVAC, helped organize the effort. He said the goal was to think beyond essential supplies.
"Let's do fun stuff... A lot of people just lost everything. These children would love to have beef jerky, the pudding cups, just fun things."
Wolf said the emotional impact of the response matters just as much as the physical relief.
"People may not remember every detail but they will remember how they feel, and that's important."
"From one community to the next, you have to be there, you have to support each other."
That same spirit is spreading to Chilton, where Jessica and Chance Vollmer, a mother and son, posted on social media looking for ways to help. Businesses in Chilton and Hilbert responded by donating food, supplies and even a trailer to help deliver it all.
"If you can help, you just should."
The Vollmers said comfort items have made a real difference for children affected by the storm.
"The kids love it. Kids are without what they have lived on their whole lives... having a snack, having a coloring book, it meant a lot to a lot of kids."
In Valders, resident Shannon Schmidtman spent his day driving around on his e-bike handing out hot meals to those who may have trouble getting to supply distribution sites.
"We just drove around on my e-bike asking people cleaning up yards if they were hungry, and they were all hungry."
For a list of local donation sites and other ways to help, click here.
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