DAWSON SPRINGS, Ky. — Thanks to the kindness from hundreds in the Memphis area, support from Mid-South donors is directly assisting a community devastated by Mother Nature but energized by the human spirit.
This past Friday, ABC24 Memphis highlighted a donation drive in an 18-wheeler truck that arrived this past weekend in a place hit especially hard by a tornado 10 days ago: Dawson Springs, KY.
Monday, ABC24 updated those efforts, led by Bryan Baker, who described seeing the devastation firsthand in the daylight hours.
"It looked like a war zone, there was a city block that was just rubble," Baker said.
Baker's donation drive from last Monday to Saturday at SouthPoint Church in Southaven, MS led to 250 bags of clothing, along with enough paper products, canned goods and water for hundreds of people.
"We helped people in a dire need it just really struck a chord," Baker added, who spent Sunday in that Kentucky community at three different dropoff sites.
"You could just see it in their faces, they were just so appreciative of what we had there," Baker said.
The donations are a small but important piece of the lengthy recovery ahead for the Kentucky community of 2500 people.
From the air or on the ground, the destruction is as far as the eye can see, following that tornado which leveled homes, smashed cars and SUV's and took down power poles and power lines.
"Every bit of supplies that we brought in is going to use," Pastor Adam Berry said Monday.
He leads a congregation in Dawson Springs and assisted with the donation efforts.
"My heart is just overwhelmed with joy and gladness, especially around here at Christmastime because that's what Christmas is about, to me, it's not about receiving, it's about giving," Pastor Berry added.
Now that the Mid-South donation drive is complete in Kentucky, the truck is empty and Baker's heart is full.
"These great people in our area stopped what they were doing and they brought out their donations that were very needed and I'm so thankful for that," Baker said.
Those in Kentucky said donated blankets were especially important for families who lost some or all of their home's structure but are still sleeping their to protect what's left of their belongings.