Community service isn't always the first thing that comes to mind when people think of unions, but it should be close to the top of the list. Union members are community-minded by their very nature and they prove this every day through the many different service projects they create and participate in, on and off the clock.

Will Fischer, community services coordinator at the AFL-CIO, sends us this update from Oklahoma:

May 31, 2013, 7:30 p.m.: The alarm sounded. It was a house fire. As the firefighters gathered and donned their gear, the sky turned an eerie yellow-gray, signaling a severe storm. The rain came down in sheets. This was Moore, Okla.; a town reeling from some of the most devastating tornadoes on record—and another lurked overhead.

Oklahoma City-area union members who were impacted by tornadoes and who participate in Union Plus programs may be eligible for financial assistance. 

Union Plus Disaster Relief Grants of $500 are available to help participants in the Union Plus Credit Card, Insurance or Mortgage programs who are facing financial hardship due to this devastating natural disaster. The money does not have to be repaid.

UPDATE: The death toll from the Moore tornado has been revised downward and stands at 24 as of noon today. But officials say they expect it to increase as rescue workers search the wreckage. 

While rescue operations continue in Moore, Okla., after one of the worst and deadliest tornadoes on record that has claimed more than 50 lives, with the toll expected to climb, relief efforts are being organized. The Oklahoma State AFL-CIO and central labor council community service liaisons are working through the United Way. 

Will Fischer, who leads AFL-CIO Community Services, sends us this update welcoming the new class of AFL-CIO Community Services Liaisons:

AFL-CIO Community Services is halfway through wrapping up its annual new staff training. New AFL-CIO Community Services Liaisons and community services representatives from around the country came to Washington, D.C., to receive training that provides them with skills necessary to be more effective in their jobs.

Staff are familiarized with the national AFL-CIO Community Services Network and how Community Services connects to other grassroots work of the AFL-CIO. 

More than 700 children and their families hunted for eggs and chatted with the Easter Bunny at the Monroe/Lenawee County AFL-CIO Central Labor Council and the United Way of Monroe County's sixth annual community Easter egg hunt at Munson Park last Saturday. 

Hundreds of Omaha, Neb., area residents worked up a sweat to raise money for the Omaha-area Energy Assistance Program. Union members from Electrical Workers (IBEW) locals 1483 and 1521 and the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM) Local 70-558 participated in the Heartland Walk for Warmth.

The historic bond between the labor and civil rights movements will be celebrated this weekend as the AFL-CIO honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision that collective action—whether at the voting booth or at the workplace—mobilizes participants to continue their work to make King’s dream a reality.

Union members are working to keep area residents warm this winter with Brown County United Way and the Greater Green Bay Labor Council Community Services Committee. The two groups are hosting the second annual Blanketing Brown County drive, collecting new and gently used blankets for distribution to area shelters and agencies. Blanketing Brown County begins today and continues through Jan. 29.

Pennsylvania union members were busy this holiday as they continued a 40-year tradition of filling stockings with sweet treats for children with special needs.