Beginning in June 2013, Farmers began sending employees to this devastated community with the goal of helping to rebuild homes damaged or destroyed in the 2011 tornado. Over the course of the year, nearly 200 Farmers employees travelled to Joplin and spent a total of 8,000 hours working to finish the rebuilding job. Through their work in Joplin, Farmers will continue its joint efforts with Rebuild Joplin (an extension of the St. Bernard Project), a local 501(c)(3) focused on the recovery efforts in Joplin. Rebuild Joplin has worked tirelessly to help the community recover since the storm.
“Of all that Farmers Insurance has accomplished as a company in 2013, I’m most proud of our work in Joplin. Nearly 200 employees have given up their personal time to head to Joplin and help this community in need get back on their feet,” said Jeff Dailey, CEO of Farmers Insurance Group. “Although we have made quite an impact, there is still more work to be done, and Farmers cannot leave this community unfinished. We are honored to extend our commitment to the people of Joplin, staying the course until it is fully rebuilt and restored to the vibrant and thriving community it was before the 2011 tornado.”
Farmers’ partnership with Rebuild Joplin is continuing in the following ways:
- The entire Farmers employee base is encouraged to volunteer time and energy in Joplin, culminating in more than 8,500 volunteer hours. Employees will contribute towards rebuilding efforts and be called upon to leverage their deep first-hand experience with disaster response to improve the recovery efforts of Rebuild Joplin and others.
- Farmers will contribute financially to help offset some of the hard costs associated with rebuilding and recovery.
To ensure Farmers work in Joplin will apply to other communities in need when disaster strikes, Farmers has documented the process, developed key learnings and best practices since May 2013 to create a Disaster Relief Recovery Plan. This best step-by-step recovery playbook will serve other communities in the aftermath of future disasters to help accelerate their recovery process and will be introduced in 2014.
Learn more about “Caring for Communities” and to learn how you can help rebuild Joplin.
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 homes by 2015.
