Dozens of tornadoes tore through the Midwest over the weekend, killing at least six people and unleashing ferocious winds that flattened entire neighborhoods. More than 12 states were affected, but the city of Washington, Ill., was one of the hardest areas hit. People who had lived there for years said they didn't even know which streets they were walking on as they surveyed the damage.
So how can you help in the relief effort?
Glenn Beck on Monday urged Americans nationwide to donate to his charity, Mercury One, which has already mobilized to help the victims.
"Mercury One is already on the scene; we dispatched a team last night," Beck said. "We had food, water, clothes, tech team ... we also sent $50,000 up to be able just to buy the generators and anything else we might need."
A neighborhood in the Devonshire subdivision of Washington, Ill., was left in ruins after a tornado tore through the northern part of the town on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013. (AP/Peoria Journal Star, Ron Johnson)
Beck said if you donate to the Mercury One disaster relief fund, 100 percent of the proceeds go to disaster relief; the only thing subtracted is a minor credit card fee, if that's how you choose to donate.
"I don't know of another charity that does this. This is why I do (events like) Man in the Moon and things like that," Beck said. "We raise the money to run the organization through things like that during the summer, so when I ask you for a donation you'll know that 100 percent, after the credit card fees, goes to the disaster relief."
Beck said his team is already "on the scene with the local churches and the synagogues in the area."
"Those are the hubs of the community," he said. "We (are) meeting with them to see how we could possibly help them. The churches are always the first on the ground and they are the ones that are there after, you know, people like FEMA are long, long gone."
This isn't the first time Mercury One has leaped into action after a natural disaster. In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, Mercury One was one of the first to reach the Coney Island community to offer help. They were shocked to find "no relief organizations or emergency management organizations" when they arrived, only an abundance of "roving armed gangs."
And when tornadoes devastated Oklahoma back in May, more than $1 million was raised for the relief effort.
"THANK GOD, THANK YOU," Beck tweeted at the time. "We have the trucks. We load within the hour..."
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