Prayer & Support: Mission Trip to Rolling Fork, Miss. - Hand of Hope

Important: Registering only commits you to receive information, not to participate in the trip.

About the Trip

The Spring 2024 Mission Trips for Hand of Hope Ministries – Omaha will be focused on Rolling Fork, Mississippi, which was hit by a tornado in 2023. Volunteers will help pick up, clean, cook, listen, and construct as they work with the grassroots community movement "Rolling For Build Back Better." Hand of Hope will run two trips on the following dates:

• Saturday, February 24 - Sunday, March 3 
  • We will need both site-construction teams and a kitchen team.
• Saturday, March 2 - Sunday, March 10
  • Hosting Morningside University football players. We will need both site leadership/construction teams and a big kitchen team!

The Disaster

March 24, 2023, Rolling Fork was mowed over by an EF4 tornado. The path of destruction was three-quarters of a mile wide and over 59 miles long, running straight through the middle of the town. Over 260 of the 500 structures were completely destroyed. 

 
Get to know Rolling Fork

The Town

The town of 1,700 is situated at the Mississippi Delta, an intersection of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas. The town has some of the richest soil in the country; however, 38% of the people in Rolling Fork live below the poverty line. Rolling Fork is the birthplace of Muddy Waters, the father of modern Chicago Blues music. 

The Great Delta Bear Affair

The “Teddy Bear” got its start near Rolling Fork after President Theodore Roosevelt took a famous bear hunting trip to the area. President Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear which had been tied to a tree for him to "hunt." This inspired a satire cartoon of President Roosevelt refusing to shoot the bear, later inspiring a Brooklyn, NY candy shop owner to create a stuffed bear dedicated to the president known as "Teddy's Bear."

Since 2002, Rolling Fork has hosted an annual festival called The Great Delta Bear Affair in honor of President Roosevelt's hunting trip. This event offers a chance to explore the town and "hunt" the many bear statues around. Each year, a 12-foot bear statue is carved and added to the town's collection. The Great Delta Bear Affair also supports the local community in several ways:

• Outreach: The Great Delta Bear Affair conducts projects to raise awareness for the Louisiana Black bear, as well as offering educational opportunities to children about Mississippi's natural resources and wildlife.
• Bear Care: The Great Delta Bear Affair supports the upkeep of the many carved bear statues around town. The March 2023 tornado damaged many bears. The 2023 Great Bear Affair sponsored an artist to repair bears during the festival.
• Teddy Bears For Kids: During the week of the festival, volunteers deliver teddy bears to the patients at the University of Mississippi's Children's Hospital in Jackson, MS. Bears are given to every patient. Since 2012, a local school in Rolling Fork as partnered with the festival to raise funds for this project.
• Youth Education Day: Each year, The Great Delta Bear Affair holds Youth Education Day the week before the festival. Over 300 fourth-graders from the area are brought together and led by natural resource professionals in discussions, games, activities, and presentations related to wildlife, the environment, and natural resources. Due to the March 2023 tornado, Youth Education Day was graciously hosted by a nearby town, Onward, MS in their new Theodore Roosevelt NWR Complex Visitor's Center.

Learn More About The Great Delta Bear Affair>>

Rolling Fork Build Back Better

This grassroots movement was set up by citizens and community leaders. While homeowners have been able to receive assistance from Federal programs to rebuild, renters have not. This is extremely important as 68% of the residents are renters. Without additional support, the community would not survive. Businesses, the school, and the hospital would close without other means of support. The Rolling Fork Build Back Better program is focused on building homes for displaced renters who have completed vetting and qualification programs (Financial literacy, Emotional and Spiritual Care, Homeownership, etc). Those who are selected will be able to purchase a home through a no-interest 20-year mortgage that has a payment, (with insurance and taxes), similar to their previous rent. This only happens with the donation of materials and volunteer labor. These fortunate people can now become homeowners, breaking the multigenerational poverty cycle. The goal is to frame to a dozen homes for delivery to the town by the end of the year. 

Rolling Fork has been able to partner with other local and statewide organizations including the Mississippi Lower Delta Partnership. This organization currently hosts a webpage with information about how to support Rolling Fork.

Learn More>>