Editor’s note: This article was a finalist for the America Inspired Contest, which celebrated extraordinary people making a difference across the United States. We invite you to read about these amazing people.

At 5:41 p.m. on Sunday, May 22, 2011, an entire community was forever changed.  An unprecedented EF-5 tornado ripped through the city of Joplin, MO, weaving a path of death and destruction that eventually measured 22 miles long and over ¾ of a mile wide.  Thousands of homes, businesses, and vehicles were destroyed or badly damaged.  162 people died as a result of the storm, and over a thousand others severely injured.  It was the strongest, deadliest, and most destructive tornado ever recorded in Southwest Missouri.

As emergency crews worked diligently around the clock to provide necessary medical attention to the injured and city personnel labored tirelessly to help restore power, water, and sanity to the city, area residents banded together to help neighbors, friends, and family begin the long process of recovery.  During the long, hot summer, volunteers flooded the city by the thousands to help clear away debris, while one man, Charlie Brown, emerged as an advocate and local hero in a very unlikely and non-traditional manner.

Charlie learned the value of helping others in their time of need from his parents, Jim and Sally Brown.  After they adopted Charlie’s older brother and sister from Guatemala, the Browns considered their family complete.  However, they soon learned of a young, single woman in their church who was pregnant and considering terminating her pregnancy.  Strongly opposed to abortion, Charlie’s parents offered the young woman another option: adoption.  Knowing the Browns’ reputation as loving, caring parents, the young woman agreed to the adoption plan and Charlie became the youngest member of the Brown clan.  Throughout his youth Charlie’s family helped him develop a keen sense of self-confidence and belonging, and it is this inner strength that he drew upon to utilize his talents in order to help tornado victims.

What evolved into an organization that has helped raise over $270,000 for Joplin initially began as a Facebook plea to organize volunteers to counter-protest Westboro Baptist Church - an organization best known for its controversial protests at military funerals - when it was learned that the church planned to protest in Joplin one week after the tornado ripped through the heart of the city.  Charlie Brown’s original Facebook page, “Counter Protest Westboro coming to Joplin” garnered 10,000 'likes' in just three days.  On Sunday, May 29, 2011, over 7,000 people lined the streets of Joplin to send the message that Joplin was a strong and united community.  Not only did various groups and individuals participate in the counter-protest, they also brought much needed items such as diapers, personal care items, water, and clothing for tornado victims and donated over $1,000 to relief efforts.

Charlie realized he was on to something big: through Facebook he could recruit volunteers who might otherwise be unable to assist with Joplin’s rebuilding efforts and provide them with a way to utilize their energy and resources in order to help obtain much-needed funding.  “Something I think is very small is, I guess, very big to some people,” Charlie said about his ability to mobilize people to act for the benefit of Joplin.  He then went on to create his next Facebook page, “Support Joplin,” which he has used to help keep people informed about the many ongoing rebuilding efforts in Joplin.  This page has spawned at least eight other charitable pages for Joplin.

The first charitable page Brown created was, “Help Restore Joplin’s Cunningham Park With a Few Clicks of a Button.”  Charlie created this page after learning about the contest, “Tea Town USA,” from the manager of the local McAlister’s Deli.  The winner of this contest would receive $7,500 from McAlister’s and another $7,500 from franchisee Craig Bothwell of Bothwell & Saxton Restaurants in Tulsa, OK.  In order to win “Tea Town USA,” a community had to receive the most votes on the Tea Town USA website over a 30-day period.  Charlie worked around the clock urging people throughout the country to vote for Joplin in an effort to win $15,000 to help restore Joplin’s Cunningham Park, which was destroyed by the tornado.  To help raise awareness about the contest, Charlie and a McAlister’s employee rode around Joplin in the official McAlister’s van every day during the contest delivering tea to volunteers who helped clear away debris throughout the city.  By the end of the 30-day voting period, Charlie’s Facebook page, with 1,361 'likes,' had helped Joplin receive over 38,000 votes to win the “Tea Town USA” contest grand prize of $15,000.

While working on “Tea Town USA,” Charlie set about to find other similar contests he could enter on behalf of Joplin.  One of the first of these was Coca-Cola’s Live Positively contest to recognize America’s favorite parks.  This three month long contest was already one month old when Charlie discovered it, and he worked around the clock for three days to help Joplin’s Cunningham Park reach third place.  Twenty-four hours after creating his Facebook page, “Coca-Cola Voting Marathon for Joplin!  Online”, Charlie found Cunningham Park had moved into the fourth place position.  “Holy cow, 75,000 (votes) overnight!” he exclaimed the following morning.  Charlie tells how he went about keeping Joplin in the race, “I set my alarm every hour on the hour to remind people to keep voting.”  In addition to promoting the contest online, Charlie also arranged for Saturday “voting marathons” on the park site.  These events – which featured live music, raffles, refreshments, and activities for children – helped reiterate the importance of Joplin’s first city park to the entire community.  When the contest ended, Joplin finished in third place, earning another $25,000 for its rebuilding efforts.

Since the May 22nd tornado, Charlie Brown has helped mobilize at least 20,000 people across the country to volunteer and donate time, money and resources to help rebuild his hometown.  Homes of Hope, Joplin, and Missouri Southern State University both recruited Charlie for his social media expertise and connections to help them qualify for another $100,000 each for their ongoing rebuilding efforts.  Charlie continues to find and promote new ways to help Joplin.  He planned the “Charlie Brown Christmas Event” for December 17 – a Christmas celebration for children 16 and under who were affected by the tornado.  He also continues to find and promote online contests that will provide much needed funding and items for schools, public facilities, and individuals.  His efforts have helped facilitate Joplin’s rebuilding efforts and provided a much-needed outlet for thousands of volunteers across the nation.  Truly Charlie Brown is one of Joplin’s greatest heroes.