Bettenhausen Dodge Collects Goods for Joplin Tornado Survivors

Alec Bettenhausen was just a teenager when Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, but the sight of the devastation on TV this week after a tornado in Joplin, Mo., triggered those memories.

So the 21-year-old Tinley Park resident, home from college for the summer, decided to do something about it. Led by memories of the Bettenhausen family car dealerships' collections for Katrina, Alec Bettenhausen organized a similar supply drive for Joplin.

"That's what kind of influenced the whole thing," Bettenhausen said. "That's where I came up with the idea and my dad said, 'Run with it.'"

Today through Memorial Day, people can drop off goods for Joplin at the two Bettenhausen dealerships:

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Drop-off hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Memorial Day.

The PDF accompanying this article has a list of supplies the Joplin residents need.

Although the dealerships are donating time and space, manager Jack Cochonour said Alec Bettenhausen is the force behind the drive.

"He took the bull by the horns and really ran with it," Cochonour said.

On Tuesday, Bettenhausen will drive the U-Haul of supplies to either Ozark Food Harvest or St. John's Church of Christ in Joplin, depending on which one is more reachable in the rubble.

The tornado's official death toll rose to 126 on Thursday, with a missing list of more than 230, according to an article in the Christian Science Monitor.

The Bettenhausen collection is using information from the website HelpJoplin.org to keep abreast on the survivors' needs.

The family is also reaching out to the business community to help, with Alec's father Mike Bettenhausen, dealership owner and former Tinley Park trustee, recently reaching out to the Tinley Park Chamber of Commerce to get the word to local businesses through Chamber e-mail blasts.

"It's starting to steamroll now," Alec Bettenhausen said.