The people of Moore, OK, and surrounding areas still need help in their recovery efforts after May's tornado. In a recent interview with Kix Brooks Radio, Toby Keith shares his experience and how you can contribute to the cause here.
In May, the Oklahoma community of Moore was devastated when an EF5 tornado ripped through the town and surrounding areas. The violent assault of the twister killed 24 people and injured hundreds more. It also left the folks in the heartland with emotional scars as they mourned losing family members and friends in addition to their homes, schools and more.
The news of the event struck a chord with one of country music's own in Toby Keith, who grew up in Moore and still lives in the area. When the tornado hit, Toby was in a Nashville recording studio working on his upcoming album but was keeping a watchful eye on the weather in his home state using his iPad. He recalls, "This thing came down and went right through the middle of the neighborhood where I grew up as a child, got my sister's [house], took the school out. It went right down through there and so we got on the jet and came back." Once he landed in the area, Toby headed straight to work. He shares, "I got my sister boarded up and got tarp over her roof and made sure that was all good. She got most of her stuff out and it fell in later, but it just devastated people down through there, so we started working as we usually do here. [Its] pretty normal about every 15 or 20 years for there to be something like this."
Even now, two months later, Toby admits that "people are just trying to get their brains wrapped around it," but things are coming together. He says, "As far as the infrastructure goes, the major news people were pretty amazed – in the two or three days that they were in there – at how quick the power poles went back up, how quick the streets opened, how each day the National Guard were pulling the road blocks back further and further away allowing more access. People ask, 'Doesn't it take four or five years?' Well, for some people it would be a lifetime depending on what you lost, but the heart of this place even though its bruised will be back up and pumping in four or five days."
In order to help with the rebuild, Toby is hosting The Oklahoma Twister Relief Concert at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman on the campus of The University of Oklahoma. Performers announced for the July 6th concert include Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Willie Nelson, Sammy Hagar, Ronnie Dunn, Mel Tillis, John Anderson, Carrie Underwood and, according to Toby, a "bunch of surprise guests." Toby tells us, "It's great of these people to donate their time free of charge to make sure that we can do some long-term financial help for these people."
While Toby applauds the success of the Healing in the Heartland benefit concert, he felt that it was important to keep the cause highlighted. He explains, "The first concert that Blake [Shelton] and those guys did was wonderful because it was a TV show and it pumped a lot of money in quick and fast. This one gives us a second wave of money in a completely different way – it'll all benefit these folks and it keeps [people] aware." Toby continues, "You know, the media didn't even really come in when three professional stormtrackers were killed in that second wrath of tornados that came through [and] 16 or 20 people lost their lives. The media just didn't cover it. They didn't cover the one the night before the big one hit Moore and it was a pretty big one that hit Shawnee, so you just want to keep it aware long enough that we get enough financial support in here for the long term that will help the people who don't have the resources to rebuild properly and get their life back underway."
Although the Oklahoma Twister Relief Concert is sold out, Toby says, "There are lots of ways for people to help these brothers and sisters out." You can give an automatic $10 donation to the United Way of Central Oklahoma's May Tornadoes Relief Fund by texting the keyword REBUILD to 52000. You can also donate via mail or phone or make your contribution online. For more information on those donation methods, visit www.unitedwayokc.org.
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