By Carl Manning
American Red Cross

Jennifer Wolfe and her sons were home thinking about dinner when a tornado came roaring through their hometown of Wynne, AR and suddenly their worst nightmare became a reality.

“We lost our home and everything that was in it,” Jennifer said at the Red Cross shelter at the Assembly of God Church in Wynne where she’s staying with sons Dillan, 16, and Hunter, 17.

All they could do at that point was to hope they would survive.

“I was hanging on to the front door trying not to fly away. My sons were in the bedroom where they were safe, and the force of the wind lifted me up off the floor,” stated Jennifer.

Hunter, who was listening to his mother recount their ordeal, added, “At least she didn’t hit her head on something and go flying away.”

After arriving at the shelter, the sons pitched in to help, from setting up the sleeping areas to bringing in cases of water and food into the shelter.

“It’s our way of giving back. We want to do what we can help those needing help,” Hunter said.

Jennifer said all the Red Cross volunteers at the shelter have been helpful, making sure they had what they needed. For instance, the family lost their medications in the tornado but had no way of getting it replaced.

“They made arrangements to have the medications delivered to us to the shelter since we had no way to get them ourselves,” she said.

“If it weren’t for the Red Cross help, we would be out on the street with no place to go and no food and no hope. We wouldn’t know what to do without the assistance of the Red Cross,” she said.

Staying at the shelter made a real impression with Hunter who now wants to become a Red Cross volunteer.

“I want to help people,” he said.