Tornadoes Ravaged The Town
IllustrationStory★★★★Tornadoes that ravaged the town of Jackson, Tennessee, in January 1999 left many families devastated. Then the town also experienced another dynamic force—the area’s youth.
Countless church youth groups, school student volunteers, and youth organizations from Jackson-Madison County and surrounding communities came to the aid of tornado victims. They arrived in work clothes ready for work, showing up unsolicited at people’s damaged homes. Since the city could not legally do cleanup and repair on private property, it left the owners to either hire expensive cleanup crews or do the work themselves. Cleanup crews, after a storm of this magnitude, were scarce and many elderly people were not able to do the work.
The service these young people provided was like a miracle to many and has made an indelible positive impression.
The point
Youth volunteered unsolicited to help tornado victims, providing miraculous service where none could afford or do the work themselves.