Lakemoor man collects for Joplin
Mike Shoemake’s family left Joplin, Mo., nearly 25 years ago, but with his old neighborhood leveled by a vicious tornado, the Lakemoor resident couldn’t ignore what happened.
The images of devastation and despair literally hit home for the physical therapist, who decided he would do what he could to help.
With little more than a desire to gather supplies, word of his quest spread fast among friends, neighbors, co-workers and local churches.
“We’ve collected a lot of food, tons and tons of clothing, lots of shoes,” he said. The coffers also are filled with diapers, baby formula, toiletries and other necessities.
“There’s a lot of good in the world,” Shoemake said. “You don’t always hear about it, but it’s there. I had no idea what to expect.”
Somebody donated two dozen bath towels. Someone else gave him $100 for gas. Generosity like that has lifted his mood.
That was Thursday. By Friday, the truck he planned to drive to Missouri early Saturday proved much too small.
“We have enough that if we had three trucks, we could drive three trucks down,” said his wife, Kim. “This has really been a community thing.”
Neighbors have volunteered to truck the excess to Robert Crown Elementary School in Wauconda on Saturday morning where Boy Scouts are also collecting donations.
A Palatine native, Kim Jakubik-Shoemake said a Facebook posting elicited responses from people she grew up with but hasn’t seen in 20 years.
“We never imagined it would get this huge,” she said.
Her husband, who runs Momentum Physical Therapy in Libertyville, spent a decade of his formative years in Joplin, leaving when he was 17. His father had been the superintendent of the local school district.
Authorities on Friday said the number of known dead in Joplin had risen to 132, with 156 people unaccounted for. .
Friends, neighbors, business associates and teachers from Libertyville Elementary District 70 fueled an effort the Shoemakes described as phenomenal.
Kara Graeb, a speech pathologist at Rockland, said it was important to teach her children the gift of giving.
“After explaining the devastation in Joplin, my 4-year-old and 2-year-old each picked one toy and one stuffed animal to donate along with clothes, shoes, blankets and other necessities,” she said.
Shoemake said Friday he has heard Joplin remains in chaos. Getting around is nearly impossible, and outsiders essentially are being asked to stay away as search and rescue efforts continue.
The Shoemakes with daughter Kristin, 10, and son Keith, 12, plan to leave Lakemoor about 2:30 a.m. Saturday and drive about 344 miles to Chesterfield, Mo., where they will hand the supplies off to a church group.