Batavia family to help Joplin tornado victims

A Batavia family is turning its summer vacation into an impromptu service trip instead.

The June 25 trip to tornado-ravaged Joplin, Mo., was suggested by 11-year-old Alyssa Jacobsen, her mother, Kim, said. Alyssa was inspired by videos she saw on the Facebook page of one of her mother’s friends. The friend, who lives in Joplin, escaped unharmed and with her house intact, but other members of her family lost everything, Kim Jacobsen said.

The family had been planning to go to Florida for vacation that week.

Jacobsen doesn’t know what they’ll be doing once they get there; they will take direction from her friend and a local church. She’s told her son, Evan, that his job could even be playing pickup basketball games with children, just to help them have some fun in a stressful time.

“We’re just going to go,” she said.

Her children have done charitable things before. Alyssa raised money for cystic fibrosis research, and Evan shaved his head during a St. Baldrick Foundation fundraiser for pediatric cancer research. “We’re kind of in that mode of wanting to help others,” Jacobsen said.

The Jacobsens are looking for donations of clothing and household goods to take with them. Jacobsen suggests that people who have leftovers from garage sales consider donating. She is willing to pick up goods.

To arrange a donation, call Jacobsen at (630) 544-9642 or email kjacobsen9902@yahoo.com.