The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday its association had raised had more than $24,000 for its “Mayfield NY to Mayfield KY Project,” and was sending out an initial payment to tornado victims in the small, ravaged Kentucky city.
County Sheriff Richard Giardino, a resident of Mayfield in Fulton County, New York, established the fundraiser earlier this week after a powerful tornado devastated parts of Mayfield, Kentucky.
The response from throughout the Capital District and Adirondacks was swift.
“The people in upstate NY and in our County and local counties are so very generous,” the sheriff’s office stated on its Facebook page Thursday. “Even those people around here who have had their own struggles found it in their hearts to help out.”
Mayfield is located more than a thousand miles away from death and destruction caused by a tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky. But the two communities share a bond – a name.
“I spoke with law enforcement officials, I said, ‘What do you need most?'” said Giardino, a resident of Mayfield in New York.
The answer was a relief fund.
So the sheriff established a fund through Fulton County Sheriff’s Association.
After 24 hours, the effort received over $6,500.
“It says something about the character of Upstate New York,” Giardino said. “And it says something about people wanting to reach out to people during a time of need.”
The association is still receiving donations at FC Sheriff’s Association, P.O. Box 20, Johnstown, NY 12095.
Additional funding will be sent to Kentucky next week.
