Community Corner

New Drop Off Center, Hotline in Tornado Relief Effort

Residents affected by the Dexter tornado are asked to pick up food, water and clothing at the local intermediate school.

Donors wishing to contribute to the tornado relief effort are being asked to drop off donations at , located at 2615 Baker Road.

The new clearing house location, which will be managed by the Red Cross, officially opens at 7 a.m. Sunday, but volunteers are already at the school collecting donations.

Tornado victims are being asked go to Creekside Intermediate school for supplies, such as clothing, food and water. The American Red Cross is closing its shelter at at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Find out what's happening in Dexterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Dexter Village Manager Donna Dettling said the American Red Cross found that the shelter at Mill Creek Middle School was not being used very much. At the same time, she said, the outpouring of donations has been tremendous.

"We're only getting calls from people asking what's needed. We're not entirely sure what's needed at the moment, because we're not getting many calls from people who need help," said Dettling. "The one thing we're pretty sure people will need is money to help them get things done while waiting for insurance claims to go through."

Find out what's happening in Dexterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

American Red Cross volunteers hope to get a better idea of people's needs with a hotline set up Saturday. People with questions about available services  should call (734) 961-3009.

Dettling said the community is quickly progressing as it cleans up the mess made by Thursday's community.

"It's really striking how quickly everything is being cleaned up," Dettling said.

People affected by the tornado can also call the United Way's 2-1-1 number for additional information.

Residents wishing to make financial contributions can do by contributing to the Dexter Relief Fund, established by LaFontaine Automotive Group and Chelsea State Bank. Call at (734) 426-4677 or LaFontaine Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram at (734) 429-9431 to donate by credit card.

You can also help by:

• Donating to the Dexter Area Tornado Relief Fund, set up by the Washtenaw County United Way, which is also accepting donated items at 2305 Platt Rd., Ann Arbor.

• Rounding off your purchases at Busch's grocery stores in Dexter and southeast Michigan. Busch's has held free community lunches and its employees have walked nearbye affected subdivisions with shopping carts, distrubting food and water to residents and workers.


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