​Donations, helpers arrive in Illinois

By ANGELA PRICE [email protected] | Posted: Wednesday, December 4, 2013 6:45
am

WASHINGTON, Ill. — The Heroes for the Homeland team hit the road early Saturday morning, Nov. 30, with a convoy of four trucks and three trailers filled with supplies bound for Illinois tornado victims. Last minute donations included a moving truck from Penske of Baltimore and 17 pallets of supplies from the Gleaning for the World organization.
The cross-country drive took them through parts of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana before finally reaching Peoria Heights, Ill.
Sunday morning, the team unloaded more than $35,000 worth of donations, Justin Davis said. “We then went to the local fire department and police department and asked them which of their members needed assistance. We then hit the streets to assist with anything we could.”
He called the vast destruction “unreal,” adding, “There are no words to express what we’re seeing here.
“The devastation is even more then I could have ever imagined. It is heartbreaking seeing all the pictures and personal items laying everywhere and not knowing where to take them,” he said.
Also Sunday, the team visited and helped in Washington, Ill., another town struck by the powerful tornados.
The community they visited was similar to Cloverfields on Kent Island, Davis said, only it was in the direct path of a tornado that went for 49 miles.
Some buildings along the tornado’s path weren’t even touched; while neighboring buildings were demolished. For example, an Advanced Auto Parts store in Washington is totally gone with the debris in the parking lot of a neighboring Tractor Supply that is open and fine, he said.
Team members will remain in Illinois the rest of the week, helping however they can. They will head back Friday.
More photos from Illinois are available on our website, myeasternshoremd.com.