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ST. LOUIS — From handing out free food on street corners to creating complex community hubs of services out of parking lots, hundreds of volunteers and community organizations across ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ have joined forces in the aftermath of Friday’s devastating tornado.

Nick Chandler, 42, from the Hazelwood area, showed up at 10 a.m. Sunday in the lot of YMCA’s O’Fallon Park Rec Complex, where community groups Action ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ and ForTheCultureSTL were dispatching groups of volunteers to clean up debris in hard-hit neighborhoods over the weekend.

Chandler was among a group of about 15 volunteers sent to streets around Martin Luther King Drive and Newstead Avenue to clear tree limbs and building materials from the sidewalks and streets for emergency crews.

“We know how to come together,� Chandler said, amid the sound of rakes and leaf blowers. On the steps of a nearby church, women set out oranges and bottles of water. “I’m from the city. I came down this morning to do the best I could do.�

The groups at the O’Fallon Rec Complex also coordinated swarms of others dropping off and handing out food, water and toiletries, as well bagging and packing items on trucks to be delivered across numerous neighborhoods without electricity.

Well-known area nightclub disc jockey DJ Bounce turned the lot of a damaged Save-A-Lot grocery store, at the corner of Kingshighway and Newstead Avenue, into a hub where volunteers set up tents to hand out food and other items.

And Annie Malone Children and Family Services, which had to postpone its annual downtown parade Sunday because of the focus on storm recovery, set up a crisis center in a lot at 5355 Page Boulevard where parade sponsors provided food, toiletries and gift cards to those in need as well as carnival rides for children.

The social service agency also provided counseling and connections to shelters and other needs.

“We are here. We are grieving with you. And we are moving with urgency and compassion,� read the announcement about the crisis center.

In addition to these major efforts were also many smaller, impromptu ones. Groups of friends, armed with saws and brooms, descended on the city’s hundreds of blown-apart homes and businesses to help. Small restaurants set up tents on street corners to serve barbecue or chicken wings amid rubble.

At the corner of Newstead and Greer avenues, about a dozen women wearing bright pink bucket hats and T-shirts emblazoned signifying they were with the Legendary Ladies Social Club set up tables and coolers to grill hot dogs and hand out chips, drinks and fruit. Others saw them and dropped off items like diapers and clothes to hand out.

The club of women older than 35 formed about four years ago. They meet every second Saturday at the Walnut Park Library to share their problems and empower each other.

“Regardless of what you say about north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, we are a community that sticks together,â€� said Karen Gulley, 58, whose nearby home had windows blown out. “Even though we have tragedy, we want to give back too.â€�

City damage estimated at $1 billion

Friday afternoon’s powerful tornado pulled rooms from buildings, ripped off roofs and snapped massive trees across miles of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.

It hit the cultural and recreational hub of Forest Park, where the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Zoo had to close for repairs; damaged blocks of stately mansions west of the park; and moved north into some of the poorest areas of the city, practically flattening brick buildings.

Nearly 5,000 buildings were in the path, city officials said. Five people were killed. A 9 p.m. curfew was put in place in the hard-hit areas to ensure emergency crews’ access.

Traffic signals were also out at numerous intersections, as crews deal with about 300 downed utility poles.

ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Mayor Cara Spencer said Sunday that teams were still making assessments, but she estimated the total amount of damage at more than $1 billion.

City department crews on Sunday were turning their attention to working with area construction contractors and preparing for a new round of thunderstorms expected Monday by covering damaged roofs and windows, especially at schools and day care centers, the mayor said.

Spencer asked for donations such as tarps, boards, screws and gloves to be dropped off at the O’Fallon Rec Complex; the Urban League of Metropolitan ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, 1408 North Kingshighway; and 4144 Martin Luther King Drive.

The American Red Cross opened three shelters at Grace United Methodist Church, 6199 Waterman Blvd.; Friendly Temple Outreach Center, 6356 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive; and the 12th & Park Recreation Center, 1410 S. Tucker Blvd.

The city also created the website to keep the public informed.

‘That’s how people are here’

Meanwhile, people like David Wilkinson, 61, of Bel-Nor, is showing up with his chain saw and machete to clear what debris he can.

Wilkinson’s wife was on her way to pick up their daughter at New City School when the tornado hit. She crouched in her Volvo as a tree slid down the street.

Seeing the devastation as he drove to pick her up motivated Wilkinson to return Sunday to help with a group of friends to help after having to work Saturday.

“That’s part of being in the Midwest,� he said. “That’s how people are here.�

The owners of new restaurants and art organizations suffered damage in the up-and-coming Delmar Maker District near the 5200 block of Delmar Boulevard, some severe, including the future home of the restaurant Olio, whose roof fell in.

Nicole Dutton, chief operating officer for Third Degree Glass Factory — a longtime anchor in the district — said dozens of volunteers and Wyatt Lawn and Landscaping descended on the businesses Saturday to clear broken glass from storefronts and branches covering lots.

Nearby Steve’s Hot Dogs, which was also damaged, handed out over 600 hot dogs from the sidewalk.

“I was really humbled by the outpouring of love and community spirit,� Dutton said. “This place is going to build back, and it’s going to be stronger for it.�

On Enright Avenue nearby, Clayton High School teacher Micah Johnson, 45, said his fellow teachers and disc golf players helped remove fallen trees and broken glass from his yard. Even his neighbors helped, despite their own homes’ destruction.

“It’s an objectively sad and devastating time for the whole neighborhood and whole community,� Johnson said. “But that’s also when we’re at our best.�