Darien VFW Tornado Relief Drive a Massive Success

Darien VFW Post 2838 is officially calling its to help victims of the Harrisburg, IL, tornadoes a success — such a success that Matt Goodwin said they’re ending the effort a week early. 

“We have run out of storage space for all of the donations that we’ve received in the last two to three weeks,” he said. “And we’ve already made a trip down to Harrisburg to drop off some items.” 

The VFW set up collection sites around Darien for items such as clothes, toys and nonperishable food products to help families whose homes were damaged or destroyed by a tornado that hit Harrisburg Feb. 29. Seven people were killed during the storm.

A waist-high pile of donations stretched across a wall outside the main office more than a week ago at . Similar scenes existed at other drop off points, including the and . 

“The reaction in Harrisburg was one of gratitude and appreciation for our efforts,” said Goodwin after the first drop-off trip. “The people we talked to were surprised that our VFW post, all the way ‘up here,’ and the community were so supportive and willing to donate.”