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Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church, Caillet Elementary among those helping tornado victims
The Presbyterian Church in Preston Hollow continues to help those affected by Sunday's tornadoes.
DALLAS - The Presbyterian Church in Preston Hollow continues to help those affected by Sunday's tornadoes.
Church members and volunteers have been delivering meals to Oncor workers and people who are lending a helping hand in getting the area cleaned up.
Church members are continuing to collect more supplies for the families affected by the storm.
Even though their church wasn’t damaged, the tornadoes destroyed the neighborhoods around them, so they’ve opened their doors this week as a donation center and hub for volunteers to help.
“We’ve probably delivered thousands of meals and thousands of cups of coffee,” said Sarah Are, with Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church.
Volunteers have also spent countless hours at the church.
“You’ve seen everything, from roofs off buildings, trees down, just people who have their hands up in the air not knowing what to do,” said Anthony Gainer, with Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church.
Friday, the church opened its doors once again, offering hot meals from Mi Cocina to volunteers, tornado victims, and anyone else in need.
“What we know is some of our best moments happen around tables, so it feels good to kind of pause on a cold day and have a meal together,” Are added.
At F.P. Caillet Elementary, 18 families were directly affected by the tornadoes.
“Some kids lost their backpacks, and their uniform. They didn’t want to come because they were not in uniform and didn't want to disappoint their teachers and we told them, ‘No, come, we have it. This is home, we're not going to turn you away,’” said Marcy Marez, who is parent liaison at F.P. Caillet Elementary.
The school has been collecting food, clothing, and more to help those affected, like Leoncil Reyes and his wife and three kids.
The family hid in a closet as the Dallas tornado went through their neighborhood.
“I grabbed my daughter, rushed her upstairs to grab my kids, grab my wife. As soon as I enter my kids’ room, I had the little boy in there, and the roof just took off,” Reyes said.
Their townhome was destroyed, and they are currently at a shelter, unsure where to go next.
“We left couches, our beds, pretty much everything big, we had to leave it,” Reyes added.
Friday was the first day they could get their kids back to school and grab clothes from the donation drive. It was a return to some normalcy in a time of uncertainty.
“We’re here for the community and our families, just letting them know this is home and we’re here and we’re not leaving,” Marez added.
Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church will continue taking donations and bringing meals to the affected areas through Saturday until noon.
Caillet Elementary will be accepting donations through the end of the month, and is open to anyone in need.