Naperville residents set $1.5 million goal to help fix yards hardest hit by 2021 tornado
By chance, Selvei Rajkumar watched the livestream of a recent Naperville City Council meeting.
It became a life-changing experience.
Moved by a plea to council members to assist Naperville residents still struggling to recover from a tornado that damaged hundreds of homes in June 2021, Rajkumar decided to use her nonprofit organization as a vessel to raise money to clean up yards that remain littered with dangerous debris.
Kelly Dougherty and Kristy Kennedy, co-founders of the Ranch View Area Community Assistance Group, attended the Sept. 6 city council meeting. They were looking for a nonprofit partner to properly distribute funds to the hardest-hit homeowners, specifically for yard damage not covered by insurance.
Through Rajkumar and the M.P. Foundation, Dougherty and Kennedy say they've found the perfect match to help them reach a goal of raising $1.5 million by the end of March. After receiving estimates as high as $30,000 to repair some yards, they know every dime is needed.
During the presentation to the city council, residents talked about the hazard of walking through yards that can't be cleared by hand. Shards of glass, metal, plastic, nails and screws keep popping up through the ground every time it rains.
Dougherty and Kennedy said the work is needed so homeowners, their children and their pets can safely walk their property.
"I heard all the stories, but what really hit me hard was that children were not able to play in their own backyard," said Rajkumar, whose nonprofit group was founded in 2018 to assist education efforts in low-income communities.
"That just really struck me," she said. "As the meeting was going on, I emailed (Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico) and spoke to him the next day. And he gave my contact information to Kelly and Kristy."
Although other nonprofit organizations also offered partnership opportunities for Dougherty and Kennedy, they chose Rajkumar and the M.P. Foundation because of the fit for their needs. Not only could she and the foundation open doors in fundraising circles, but she also offered access to her group's technological infrastructure to get a website up and running.
As of last week, napervilletornadorelief.com launched and is ready to accept donations. One of the first was from Katie Dalton, a recent Naperville Central High School graduate who last year raised $6,200 through a GoFundMe campaign but was unable to find a group that could guarantee the money would go directly to those affected by the tornado.
"There were moments where we really felt this was not going to happen," Dougherty said. "Looking back on those first days after the tornado, and how sad and overwhelming it all felt, knowing that we were actually able to achieve this is a great feeling."
Task force members, a group of neighborhood parents, have targeted 70 homes eligible for yard replacement that involves removing the top two inches of topsoil, replacing it and reseeding. There are an additional 300 yards they hope to assist through landscaping and beautification.
The fundraising effort has already received offers of help from the Naperville Junior Women's Club, the Ranch View Elementary School student council and the Naperville Central Rowdies.
Kennedy said the task force is searching for and applying for grants at various local, state and federal levels.
Because there's no paid staff, Kennedy said, the only administrative costs will consist of bookkeeping and minimal fundraising costs. A financial audit will occur at the end of the initiative, she said.
"We're all new to this, so we're still trying to figure out strategies," Kennedy said. "We still have a ton of money to raise, and it feels a little daunting. But it feels good to be doing something meaningful."