Samaritan’s Purse helping Middle Tennessee families affected by tornadoes
HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — For the last 53 years, Kelly Hammock-Murphy and her family have found solace in their home off Clearview Circle.
“I can’t believe it,” she said. “It’s crazy just what a few minutes of a tornado can do and then it’s over.”
More tornadoes confirmed after deadly outbreak across Middle Tennessee
A few minutes is all it took for a tornado to destroy the backyard her father spent years working on.
“My dad planted every tree in the backyard and out front,” said Murphy, but all of that stopped earlier this year when Murphy lost her father.
“We’re still mourning since April,” she said. “Then this…so we’re hoping that next year will be a better year because we’ve been through it a lot this year.”
On Saturday, a tornado ripped through Hendersonville while Murphy’s 89-year-old mother sat in her home and waited things out.
“She said it was scary hearing everything outside hitting the windows and flying everywhere,” she said.
Part of the roof was damaged, and the backyard littered with debris until a group of volunteers stepped in to help.
“We saw the tornadoes start to come through the Middle Tennessee area and we knew then that we needed to probably come and assess and see what kind of damage there was,” said Jodie Yoder.
Yoder is the program manager for Samaritans Purse, a Christian relief organization based out of North Carolina.
For the next two weeks, volunteers will be out cleaning debris, putting tarps on roofs, and overall helping families clean up and move forward after these tornadoes.
“Even just the little things…raking, cleaning up the debris, and taking that to the curb, that just gives them a little normalcy again, especially here at Christmas time,” said Yoder.
It’s a small gesture that means so much to Murphy and her family as they work to move forward.
“I’m very grateful to these people…to Samaritan’s Purse,” she said. “When they called me, I was going, ‘Aw that’s awesome…Lord’s helpers.'”
Tornado Disaster Relief: Donate to help those impacted by the deadly storms in Tennessee
If you were impacted by the tornadoes and would like assistance from Samaritan’s Purse, you can call them at 1-833-747-1234.
You can also stop by Faith Baptist Church at 1602 Gallatin Pike North in Madison or First Baptist Church at 499 Commerce Street in Clarksville to request assistance as well.
If you would like to volunteer in Clarksville, you can call 931-221-9925 or 615-927-7213 to volunteer in Madison.
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