After Cullman residents helped their community hit by Hurricane Harvey, members of the Houston Elks Lodge have donated money to Cullman to help them recover from the March 19 hailstorm.

In September, the Cullman Elks Lodge travelled to Houston, Tex. with a truckload of supplies and a $10,000 check to help the area recover, and used the Houston Elks Lodge as a base of operations.

Cullman Elks Lodge Trustee Gwen Parker said the Houston Elks Lodge reached out to them after the hailstorm.

“They saw it on the news and on Facebook and they wanted to repay the help that we had given them,” she said.

They sent their support in the form of a $1,000 check, but didn’t specify any use for the money, so the Cullman Elks Lodge selected the United Way of Cullman as the recipient, Parker said.

“We wanted to give it to the United Way for them to help those in need,” she said.

United Way Board Chair Pepper Hoover said the Board of Directors got together the week after the hailstorm and approved the release of funds to help with repairs to damaged windshields.

Other organizations were providing help with homes or food, but the need for windshield repairs was not being met by anyone else, she said.

“Nobody really knew what to do, but Sammie and her staff were very articulate that the needs were great,” she said.

In the weeks since the storm, the United Way has given out 112 vouchers to local residents who needed help getting their windshields replaced.

United Way Director Sammie Danford said there were a lot of people who simply would not be able to afford to have their windshields repaired without the vouchers, but need their cars to drive to work or get their kids to school.

“We had a lot of folks that were making less than $1,000 a month,” she said. “They’re just about in tears when they leave.”

Hoover said the United Way is still giving out the vouchers to qualifying residents, and will do so until they run out of funds.

“We still have some funds available if anyone has a need,” she said.

Qualifying residents requesting a voucher must provide a copy of a current Alabama driver’s license, a copy of current vehicle tag receipt and proof of insurance as of March 19. Residents must also meet the current federal poverty guidelines.

Along with the check from the Elks Lodge, other organizations have also stepped up to provide support to the United Way, and there have been many individual donations that have also helped, Hoover said.

“We’re just happy to be able to help,” she said. “That’s what live united means.”