After an E-F5 tornado ripped through Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20, 2013, thousands of individuals began reaching out through social media, by phone, on our website and through email. It was immediately clear that there would be massive needs and an equally massive desire to help. One such message came from the Jonas Brothers who have been partnering with Convoy of Hope since 2009.
Recording artist Joe Jonas arrived in Moore just a few days after the tornado struck, wearing his Convoy of Hope volunteer T-shirt and ready to help. His first few minutes in the field included a live interview with CNN. “Right after we’re done I’m going to be helping clean up with Convoy,” he said to CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin. “I’m looking forward to be working with some of the people there.”
The people Jonas went to work with were a group of about 50 volunteers that over the next two days cleared many homes of debris left by the tornado. Other than the brief moment to snap a picture with a survivor who recognized him, Jonas and crew stayed busy hauling downed trees, destroyed fences and twisted sheet metal out of one yard after the next. On his second day of volunteering, one volunteer leaned over to Joe and with a kind smirk said, “You’re probably the only celebrity spending Memorial Day weekend in work gloves pushing a wheelbarrow.”
To that, Jonas smiled then blended back in to the sea of blue shirts working hard to bring hope to the people of Moore.