Tony Messenger | Post-Dispatch

Metro columnist

ST. LOUIS — A few days after the tornado hit in May, John Bowman found himself directing traffic at a food pickup line at O’Fallon Park.

Bowman, who retired from Chrysler 15 years ago, is president of the St. Louis County branch of the NAACP. In the wake of the tornado, he was looking to support organizations doing critical work on the ground.

“I called people I knew who had a little money,” Bowman told me back in May. “I just want to do what I can to help.”

He bought tarps, flashlights and roofing supplies, and some water and granola bars. He navigated toward two nonprofits, Action St. Louis and For the Culture STL, which were running their grassroots tornado recovery efforts out of the O’Fallon Park YMCA.

“They just organically built o

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