Blessing Elephants for Tornado Victims

Campbellsville First United Methodist Church (Columbia District) had a first on June 15. It was the site of the Blessing of the Elephants.

An eight-year-old girl, Cee Cee Creech, had seen the news reports of the devastation of Joplin, Mo., as the result of the tornado that hit the city, and she wanted to do something to help the children who were left homeless and living in shelters.  A plea had been sent out by a Joplin toy store for all kinds of toys and especially for stuffed animals.

Cee Cee has been a knitter since she was four, and she decided she would knit little elephants and raise pledges depending on the number of elephants she knit between June 1 and June 17. There originally was a cut-off date, but now this has become an ongoing project.

The story of her efforts was put on Facebook, and the pledges started pouring in. Between June 1 and June 17, over $3,100 was pledged to the Red Cross in Joplin. Cee Cee does not sell the elephants but only asks that pledges be sent to the Red Cross.

An organization in Springfield, Mo., Little Hands Big Helpers, read the story and invited the Creech family to come to Joplin at their expense in order for Cee Cee to deliver her elephants to the children in person. A Springfield radio station picked up the story and interviewed Cee Cee about what she is doing and how it all came about.

On the night before the Creech family was to leave for Joplin, Rev. Ron Young, pastor of Campbellsville First, lined the little elephants up on the altar and blessed them and Cee Cee’s family and the efforts they are putting into this project.

You can learn more and see photos of the elephants on the Elephants Remember Joplin Facebook page.