Columbia for Joplin began as a grassroots effort to gather as man people as possible from the Columbia area for a work day in Joplin on August 27, 2011. The event was organized by a group of Columbia-area Rotarians, but was open to all. 700 people from the community responded and traveled across the state to help fellow Missourians in working to rebuild their community.

Since then, the idea has been that CoMo4JoMo should become a source of information for ongoing efforts in Joplin. As the work continues, it is becoming more important that targeted talents and abilities find their way to specific projects that are needed.