Abilene Donations Help Tornado Victims Rebuild
By: Megan Dobbs
Updated: May 18, 2012
Six weeks ago, a tornado outbreak devastated parts of the Dallas area. Homes were destroyed, and lives were uprooted.
But thanks in large part to the generosity of Abilene residents, those who lost everything they had are able to start the rebuilding process. That includes many in the east Texas town of Forney, hometown of KRBC anchor Megan Dobbs.
Families like the McKeevers were left with nothing after a tornado hit their home.
"You realize how much in life you had, and then all of a sudden, you don't have it," said Forney resident Terri McKeever.
But in just six weeks, families have gained tremendous ground cleaning up and, as much as they can, restoring order to the chaos mother nature left behind. It's been, in part, the donations from people near and far that have helped them get there.
"It was just incredible, all the people who came forward saying 'how can we help?'" said Randall McKeever.
The McKeevers are just one of many families who benefited from the outpouring of support.
"People brought food, water.. it was awesome. It was a constant flow. People would just drop off an ice chest, and other people would come and drop off a Chick-Fil-A sandwich or water. You drink so much water when you're working all day in the heat," Terri said.
Help that goes a long way for someone whose home has been ravaged, because the process to recovery can seem quite daunting.
"[We had to] start from the roof and move down, tearing down.. the house. And then, we could look at rebuilding," Randall said.
And so, it's time to rebuild. Easy enough to say when you're looking at devastation through a television screen, but for these residents, it's painfully real. Surrounding them, eerie reminders of that fateful day. But when you consider that homes were destroyed, some completely wiped away.. no doubt these residents are thankful to be here, even if that means starting over.
Donations sent from Abilene included money, gift cards to hardware stores and food and water, all of which have been put to great use there. And donations have even gone further than just helping residents pick up the pieces at the wreckage sites. North Forney High School students whose homes were affected received discounts on prom attire to ease the cost of one of the highlights of high school.
But thanks in large part to the generosity of Abilene residents, those who lost everything they had are able to start the rebuilding process. That includes many in the east Texas town of Forney, hometown of KRBC anchor Megan Dobbs.
Families like the McKeevers were left with nothing after a tornado hit their home.
"You realize how much in life you had, and then all of a sudden, you don't have it," said Forney resident Terri McKeever.
But in just six weeks, families have gained tremendous ground cleaning up and, as much as they can, restoring order to the chaos mother nature left behind. It's been, in part, the donations from people near and far that have helped them get there.
"It was just incredible, all the people who came forward saying 'how can we help?'" said Randall McKeever.
The McKeevers are just one of many families who benefited from the outpouring of support.
"People brought food, water.. it was awesome. It was a constant flow. People would just drop off an ice chest, and other people would come and drop off a Chick-Fil-A sandwich or water. You drink so much water when you're working all day in the heat," Terri said.
Help that goes a long way for someone whose home has been ravaged, because the process to recovery can seem quite daunting.
"[We had to] start from the roof and move down, tearing down.. the house. And then, we could look at rebuilding," Randall said.
And so, it's time to rebuild. Easy enough to say when you're looking at devastation through a television screen, but for these residents, it's painfully real. Surrounding them, eerie reminders of that fateful day. But when you consider that homes were destroyed, some completely wiped away.. no doubt these residents are thankful to be here, even if that means starting over.
Donations sent from Abilene included money, gift cards to hardware stores and food and water, all of which have been put to great use there. And donations have even gone further than just helping residents pick up the pieces at the wreckage sites. North Forney High School students whose homes were affected received discounts on prom attire to ease the cost of one of the highlights of high school.
