News

There are moments that test a community.

And then there are moments that reveal one.

The historic flooding that swept through Connersville and Fayette County brought devastation that will not disappear when the water recedes. Families have been displaced. Homes and property have been damaged. Debris must be cleared. For many of our neighbors, recovery will take weeks, months, or even longer. There are genuinely more questions than answers at this point. 

But amid the heartbreak, something else became immediately visible: Fayette County knows how to show up for one another.

Within hours, first responders, emergency management personnel, city and county officials, schools, nonprofits, businesses, churches, organizations, and individual residents were already moving.

Our firefighters, EMS personnel, law enforcement officers, dispatchers, emergency management professionals, and local officials have worked around the clock to protect residents and manage an extraordinary situation. They’ve worked tirelessly to ensure that the safety of every resident was the top priority. 

The Fayette County Fair Association opened Expo Hall to help house displaced families and serve as a location for donated items. Fayette County schools opened their doors and helped provide meals. Businesses and churches began feeding families and first responders. Others provided equipment, dumpsters, supplies, food, water, and hands willing to work. Volunteers arrived ready to help clear debris and begin the difficult process of cleaning up.

And those are only some of the stories we know.

There have been so many acts of generosity that attempting to list them all would almost certainly mean leaving someone out. Perhaps that, in itself, says something remarkable about this community.

There are simply too many helpers to name.

A Community Ready to Respond

At the Fayette Community Foundation, our role in this response began with a practical question: How can we help?

We quickly began working with Fayette County Emergency Management to establish a temporary flood recovery fund. Because Foundation grants must be made to eligible nonprofit, school, or government entities, one of our first priorities was identifying a partner that could help ensure donated dollars could reach local recovery efforts quickly and responsibly with as few barriers as possible.

Emergency Management Director Wade Walling and Fayette County generously stepped forward to help administer those funds.

The resulting fund will support local flood relief and cleanup efforts, with a particular focus on flexible for needs that may fall through the gaps of insurance coverage or government disaster assistance.assistance 

That flexibility will become increasingly important as Fayette County moves from immediate emergency response into recovery.. 

The generosity from outside resources and partners has already begun.

Duke Energy has committed $10,000 to the fund, and Reid Health has committed an extraordinary $100,000. Community members have also begun making gifts of their own. As of writing this, over $55,000 has been donated by 199 other community members and businesses. 

Mayor Chad Frank has shared that the physical donations of supplies have been so generous that managing them has become a challenge of its own. For those still looking for a way to help, he has encouraged financial donations to the recovery fund, allowing resources to be directed where they are needed most as those needs continue to evolve.

The Strength We Build Before We Need It

Community foundations spend a great deal of time talking about building strong communities.

Usually, we talk about that work through grants, philanthropy, nonprofit partnerships, leadership, and investments in projects that improve quality of life. Those things matter.

But community strength is also something less tangible.

It’s a school that opens its doors because people need somewhere to go.

It’s a business that looks at what it has—a truck, equipment, food, supplies, employees willing to work—and asks, “How can we help?”

It’s a first responder working another exhausting shift.

It’s an organization changing its plans because the community suddenly needs something different.

It’s neighbors checking on neighbors and offering what they have to share.

And it’s people and organizations who already know one another well enough to make a phone call, solve a problem, provide a resource, and get to work.

Those relationships cannot be created overnight.

They are built through years of collaboration, service, volunteering, generosity, leadership, and simply caring about what happens to the people around us.

In a crisis, we see the return on that investment. And we’re seeing that return happening before our very eyes.

Recovery Will Take All of Us

The immediate response to this disaster has been extraordinary, but the work is far from finished.

As the water recedes and the initial rush of emergency response begins to settle, some needs will become clearer. Others will emerge later. Families will begin determining what insurance will cover—and what it will not. Cleanup will continue. Damaged homes and properties will need attention. People who have spent these first days simply trying to get through the emergency will begin figuring out what comes next.

That is why the Fayette County flood recovery fund was designed to be flexible.

We cannot yet know every need this disaster will create. We can make sure, however, that local resources are available to help address needs as they become known.

There will be time later to measure the damage.

Right now, we find ourselves measuring something else: meals prepared, dry clothing offered, doors opened, equipment loaned, donations made, hours volunteered, calls answered, neighbors checked on, and helping hands extended.

We wish this disaster had never happened.

But in one of Fayette County’s hardest moments, we have been reminded of something worth holding onto.

A strong community is not simply a place where people live near one another. It is a place where people are connected to one another.

When the waters rose, Fayette County showed just how strong those connections are.

To Offer Assistance & Find Support

To support local flood relief and recovery efforts, please make a donation to the Fayette County Flood Relief Fund through our online donation page:

To keep up with volunteer needs, debris dumps, supply distribution, and more, check the City of Connersville Facebook page.