Andrean High School students clean up tornado damage in Merrillville, Indiana, as Red Cross adds their support
Two weeks after an EF-2 tornado ravaged Merrillville, Indiana, high school students came together to revitalize their community.
Students from Andrean High School picked up branches and filled trash bag after trash bag with debris as they joined forces to clean up the damage the storms have left behind.
"I really wanted to come out here definitely because of the amount of stress these homeowners are definitely feeling right now, to relieve some of that stress by me and my classmates coming out here," said student Desmon Moses.
"It's definitely what god would want us to do. I bet everyone else who we're cleaning the neighborhoods for are very happy and will appreciate all of us out here today," said Maddie Kozlowski, student.
Andrean High School itself was struck by the tornado on June 11, as was the community around it.
"I'm loving it! I'm loving it!" said Ronald Thrash, neighbor, of the student volunteers' efforts. "We needed somebody to come out here."
"Just to help people in need it makes me happy and just seeing all these houses, they just needed proper care and help," Kozlowski said.
The students worked with Big Shoulders Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to providing quality education for students, who organized the cleanup effort.
"We always talk about giving back to the community, you know this time of need we felt it was important that students reached out to the greater Merrillville community to be able to get back," said Dan Kozlowski, executive director of Big Shoulders Fund Northwest Indiana.
"Everyone here works together to better each other. It's amazing!" said Moses.
The American Red Cross is also helping with cleanup and providing services and supplies to residents impacted by the severe weather.
Red Cross volunteers handed out supplies such as gloves, rakes, tarps, and more to homeowners.
Crisis responders said more severe weather this week slowed clean-up efforts and the heavy rainfall made damage even worse.
About 200 Merrillville residents are without power on Friday. Nearly 2,300 NIPSCO customers in nearby Griffith are also waiting for electricity to come back on.
