Stacy Blanchard

Helping tornado victims

By Leah Etling on Jul 1, 2013 in Giving, People

When a devastating tornado hit Moore, Oklahoma in May, Yardi’s Stacy Blanchard, a strategic client account executive in the Dallas, Texas, office, was moved to act. She thought of raising funds to donate to a clearinghouse aid agency like the Red Cross or United Way, but decided that what she really wanted to do was help a family, face to face.

Utilizing the power of social media, Stacy reached out to a friend in Moore who hadn’t lost her home, but knew many people who had. An estimated 1,150 homes were lost, 24 people died, and $2 billion in damage was incurred in the storm.

For Keri and Mike Wilson and their family, losing their home was awful, but the safety of their teenage children, who were home when the tornado touched down and decimated most of

their neighborhood, was paramount. Drew and Sydney, their children, took shelter in the laundry room during the storm. It was the only part of the house that remained standing. Sydney’s car ended up upside down in the back yard. Keri Wilson described her home as reduced to “bricks and sticks.”

Mobilized to action, Stacy spent time talking to Keri and learning the details of her story. As a mother of two, she was moved by the terror of a fellow mom who wasn’t able to learn for more than two hours whether or not her children were OK. Keri described how when she was finally able to make contact with her parents, who had been able to reach her home, she collapsed in sobbing relief.

Once the stress of survival had passed, the Wilsons had to scramble to figure out where they would sleep and how they’d begin replacing a lifetime of household goods and valuables. Focusing on the basics, Keri realized that they had no clothes other than what they were wearing. But housing came first.

“Mike and Keri found an apartment on the first day before they did anything else. They spent every extra penny to get in the apartment and purchase basic necessities,” Stacy explained to the friends and fellow employees that she asked for help.

Yardi staffers in the Dallas and Irving offices responded, collecting donations of gently used clothing and household items, as well as cash and gift cards so that the Wilsons could replace some of the things they’d lost.

Rob Blanchard, Stacy’s husband, received a $1,000 contribution from his employer. The Blanchards packed up all of the donations and drove to Moore to deliver them in person. Compared to what she had seen on TV news reports, Stacy found the devastation even more dramatic than she had imagined or expected.

“What we saw did it no justice whatsoever. It was so much worse in person,” Stacy said. “I don’t understand how there weren’t more casualties.” Drew Wilson, who will be a senior in high school next year, assisted in the rescue effort, in some cases pulling bodies from the rubble. The Wilson family and hundreds more families just like them went through the painful task of sifting through what remained of their home, salvaging what they could. In most cases, it wasn’t much.

Making the personal connection and knowing exactly who she was helping with her efforts really made an impact on Stacy. This was a first time fundraising effort for her, and she hopes to do more in the future.

“We had such great response within the Dallas and Irving offices. It definitely made us proud, going out there and seeing who pitched in,” she said. Her determination to help is a perfect example of how Yardi and its employees go above and beyond to aid those in need. Find more articles about our corporate philanthropy and the passions and causes of our employees here on The Balance Sheet.