Boys And Girls Club Damaged By Saturday's Storm

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Sunday, March 29, members of the community came together to clean up after Saturday night's storms. The Boys and Girls Club was damaged by the tornado that went through Murfreesboro Saturday night,

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Winds blew through Murfreesboro Saturday night, ripping through the Boys and Girls Club. The storm left holes in the ceilings of the gym and water damage in just about every room of the building.

The National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-0 tornado formed in Murfreesboro Saturday. One of the spots hardest hit was a place known for helping hundreds of children and teens.

After Saturday's storms, the Boys and Girls Club is now in need of a helping hand. The dangling insulation and holes in the ceiling tell a story of how unforgiving mother nature can be.

Sunday morning, the clean up began with lifting and carrying of what was salvageable to a temporary building. Still in shock of what happened, many volunteers came to help out.

"The Boys and Girls Club does such a fantastic job for kids, so my husband was like, 'let's go down and see what we can do,'" said volunteer, Brenda Elliott.

The damage was not contained to the inside. The storm left debris and a roof from a storage building outside on the playground.

"It's not the facility that makes the Boys and Girls Club, it's the people and programs," said Don Jernigan with the Boys and Girls Club.

Jernigan said the true essence of the Boys and Girls Club still stands strong. The programs benefit 300 children from 22 schools in Rutherford County.

"The facility doesn't provide hope and opportunity. It's the Boys and Girls programs, the staff, the board of directors, volunteers on a daily basis that reach out to the children," said Jernigan.

Jernigan said the storm has caused a few bumps in their road of success, but it also has shown the heart of their county.

"When you have tragedy like this it really brings a community together," Jernigan said.

For now, all the events at the Boys and Girls Club will take place in the McFadden Community Center.

The storm also damaged several stores in the Jackson Heights Shopping Center. Sunday morning, people were boarding up windows and repairing badly damaged roofs.