Matthew 25 helping out derecho victims for ’Transform Week’

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Cedar Rapids’ Matthew 25 is changing an annual event to help those impacted by last month’s derecho.

Matthew 25′s annual Transform Week normally looks to help people in the Time Check and Taylor neighborhoods in Cedar Rapids. As people are still cleaning up three weeks after the storm, the requests for help are stacking up.

So, instead, this year they are helping out derecho victims all across Cedar Rapids. They will still fix up some homes in need during Transform Week, but the focus will be mainly on helping the city recover from the storm.

Leaders said they only have 80 volunteers so far this week. In the past, they have had hundreds. They said the coronavirus pandemic is likely why numbers are down.

“A lot of corporations, because they’re not having employees come in, also don’t want them to come to work sites like this and so,” Clint Twedt-Ball, executive director for Matthew 25, said.

Some of the longtime volunteers, like Jerry Oakland, said he’s fine with the change to help out derecho victims.

“There’s so many people that have so much work that have so much work that has to be done,” Oakland said. “We need to help as much as we can, as soon as we can.”

Matthew 25 is looking for people to help for the rest of the week. People can visit their website for more information on how to help.

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