Late in the night on December 10, 2021, two tornadoes touched down in Muhlenberg County with one traveling 17 miles across Bremen, a small town less than 20 miles from the Muhlenberg Job Corps Camus. The powerful storms leveled many homes and killed at least 11 people in Bremen, 77 statewide; making these storms Kentucky’s deadliest.
Through expeditious planning, staff from Bremen Elementary quickly pulled together to help members of the community devastated by the tornadoes. Volunteers from all over, including MJCC staff and students swiftly responded.
School officials took in people in need shelter or supplies and hosted a community meal and relief effort the following Sunday evening for tornado victims, first responders, and any volunteers who were helping in the cleanup effort.
Meanwhile, Bremen’s Elementary school gym was transformed into a makeshift warehouse, full of donated items such as toilet paper, diapers, clothes, non-perishable food items, and much more for those in need.
That same week Muhlenberg Job Corps expedited their own plans to aid Bremen. While students were organized in Bremen’s gym to assist in sorting thousands of donated items, heavy equipment through MJCC’s hard trade’s department was provided and operated by Center staff for cleanup and transportation efforts.
Thousands throughout the state of Kentucky suffered much loss from these devastating storms, and the healing process will continue for years to come. However, to witness communities bonding, pulling together, lifting one another up, and responding with such seamlessness and speed is not only remarkable but defines the true core of an indomitable spirit.