JOPLIN, MO (August, 27, 2013) Farmers Insurance, which is in the midst of a long-term initiative to help Joplin with recovery efforts through the dedication of resources, assets, expertise and financial commitments, was officially welcomed on Tuesday, August 27th into the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce.
Nan Treul, the Farmers Insurance executive, who has relocated to Joplin to oversee the company’s activities, will be joined by local civic and business leaders and Farmers volunteer workers at a ribbon cutting at 10 AM on Tuesday, August 27, at 705 Illinois Avenue, #1. Earlier this month, Farmers employees were joined by local officials in dedicating a house built by Farmers employee volunteers.
“On behalf of the thousands of agents, district managers and employees of Farmers Insurance, I proudly stand hand in hand today with Joplin area business and civic leaders to help this community through the final stages of recovery,” Treul said.
Farmers has joined forces with Rebuild Joplin, a local 501c3 focused on the recovery efforts in Joplin in the aftermath of the devastating, 2011 F5 tornado that took 161 lives and damaged or destroyed 8,000 homes and businesses in the area.
Farmers is supporting the community with assets, knowledge and volunteer employees led by Treul, who raised her hand to work with Rebuild Joplin to help spearhead Joplin rebuilding efforts from within the community. Treul is serving as Farmers’ on-the-ground expert to ensure that the proper Farmers resources are tapped to help expedite the amount of time it will take to rebuild Joplin and get the community back on its feet.
“For 85 years, Farmers has been dedicated to revitalizing and restoring communities and our activities in Joplin are a natural evolution of that commitment,” said Treul. “We are proud to help the people of Joplin complete the path to their recovery and to renew the focus and commitment beyond the moment of disaster and to provide our full resources to create a model for recovery and revitalization.”
Farmers is partnering with Rebuild Joplin in the following ways:
- The entire Farmers employee base has been encouraged to donate company time and energy to volunteering in Joplin, culminating in more than 8,500 volunteer hours. Employees are contributing towards rebuilding efforts and are leveraging their deep first-hand experience with disaster response to improve the recovery efforts of Rebuild Joplin and others.
- Farmers also is contributing financially to help offset some of the hard costs associated with rebuilding and recovery.
“Farmers cared for this community in the immediate aftermath of the storm by providing top notch service to its customers, providing meals, Wi-Fi, charging stations, ice and stuffed animals for kids who had lost everything,” said Jerrod Hogan, Founder and Executive Director, Rebuild Joplin. “They are continuing to care for our community by supporting Rebuild Joplin as we work to cross the finish line. In the last leg of the residential recovery marathon, Farmers is not only giving us a boost of energy, but they have promised to run the last leg with us. We could not have asked for a better partner at a better time.”
To ensure Farmers work in Joplin will apply to other communities in need when disaster strikes, Farmers is documenting the process and developing key learnings and best practices to create a Disaster Relief Recovery Plan. This step-by-step recovery playbook will serve other communities in the aftermath of future disasters to help accelerate their recovery process.
About Rebuild Joplin
Rebuild Joplin was founded in response to the tornado that tore through Joplin on May 22, 2011. Rebuild Joplin began as a website to coordinate donations and volunteers, then evolved into serving the immediate needs of recovery, eventually shifting to the repair and rebuilding of homes directly affected by the tornado. Rebuild Joplin has rebuilt 71 homes to date, and aims to ensure that all remaining families that were storm-displaced are returned to a safe and secure home by 2015.
