Claire Frank, Congregation Shaare Emeth

When a tornado touched down just three blocks from her home in St. Charles last summer, Claire knew she wanted to help with the clean up. Her rabbi, Rabbi Jim Bennett, of congregation Shaare Emeth, suggested she contact the Red Cross or local area churches to find volunteer opportunities. The Red Cross told Claire, daughter of Patricia and Ken of St. Charles County, that she was too young. She did hear that Harvester Christian Church was collecting donations and organizing cleanup efforts, so Claire immediately called the church.

 Along with volunteers from the church, Claire started in the Greensboro neighborhood, where they helped move piles of debris stacked at the edge of the street into dumpsters. 

Once all the dumpsters were filled, Claire moved on to the Hickory Dale neighborhood where a huge oak tree had fallen over two backyards. It had a 20-foot diameter root ball, and destroyed a fence and shed. Several volunteers with chainsaws cut the branches and trunk into pieces that she and others helped haul to the street. Missouri transportation officials later came by to pick up the limbs and debris.

All in all, Claire put in about five hours of heavy labor. A student at Mary Emily Bryan Middle School in the Frances Howell School District, Claire said that she was impressed by the damage the EF3 tornado wrought so close to home. “I felt great satisfaction in seeing the large debris pile disappear as the dumpsters filled up,” she said. “And I was happy to help those who live close by yet never met.”