Current:Home > FinanceHer 10-year-old son died in a tornado in Tennessee. Her family's received so many clothing donations, she wants them to go others in need. -FundPrime
Her 10-year-old son died in a tornado in Tennessee. Her family's received so many clothing donations, she wants them to go others in need.
View
Date:2025-04-24 16:32:04
As the Burnham family mourns the death of 10-year-old Arlan Garrick Coty, who died during a tornado that swept through Tennessee on Saturday, donations are pouring in — so many clothing donations, his mom says, she wants them to go to others.
Arlan, a fourth grader, was one of at least six people who died when severe storms tore through central Tennessee. He didn't make it out of his house, which was in the direct path of the storm, his mother, Katherine Burnham, wrote in a Facebook post Monday.
After saying their Clarksville home was gone, Burnham admitted she and her husband "are not okay."
"We don't know how to navigate through this," she wrote. "We have no idea what is next. Anyone who knows me at all knows how much I love and adore my kids, all kids really. I cannot put into words how absolutely devastated I am."
Burham said an "entire army of people" has been helping them dig through the rubble of their house to find belongings — including drawings Arlan made in kindergarten that were recovered. On one page, he said he wanted to learn how to cook with his mom. Burnham told CBS News they got to do that – a lot.
Other friends are giving them food and helping them do laundry and one created a GoFundMe page on behalf of the family. More than $184,000 has been raised — far surpassing the fundraising goal of $5,000.
Burham told CBS News via Facebook message she wants donors to start focusing on others. "We no longer need clothes and want those donations to go to other families in need," she said. "There are so many displaced families in similar situations, my heart is broken but there is enough love and support to go around."
"When my son was born I knew he would touch so many lives, I knew he was special. This may not be how I dreamed, but he definitely touched more people than I ever even knew," Burnham said. Two other children lived in the home and survived.
She said her mind has been blown by the generosity from people around the world. "My baby is leaving an entire legacy behind."
The Clarksville Police Department identified Arlan as one of the victims, as well as 59-year-old Donna Allen, of Florida, and 34-year-old Stephen Kwaah Hayes, of Clarksville, CBS affiliate WTVF reports.
The three other victims were killed as the storm hit a mobile home community in Madison, Nashville Police said. They were identified as 37-year-old Joseph Dalton, 31-year-old Floridema Gabriel Perez and her son, 2-year-old Anthony Elmer Mendez.
At least 60 other people were taken to area hospitals and nearly 40,000 electricity customers were still without power as of Sunday morning, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us.
The storms caused a building at a Nashville church to collapse, sending 13 people to local hospitals, according to the Nashville Office of Emergency Management. On Sunday, Emergency officials were now in the "search and rescue phase of this disaster," Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said.
- In:
- Tornado
Caitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.
veryGood! (2758)
Related
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- In Oklahoma, a woman was told to wait until she's 'crashing' for abortion care
- Apple AirTags can track your keys, wallet and luggage—save 10% today
- As pandemic emergencies end, some patients with long COVID feel 'swept under the rug'
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Climate Change Is Shifting Europe’s Flood Patterns, and These Regions Are Feeling the Consequences
- New lawsuit provides most detailed account to date of alleged Northwestern football hazing
- Blast off this August with 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' exclusively on Disney+
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- Hurry to Coach Outlet to Shop This $188 Shoulder Bag for Just $66
Ranking
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Supreme Court extends freeze on changes to abortion pill access until Friday
- A robot answers questions about health. Its creators just won a $2.25 million prize
- See maps of where the Titanic sank and how deep the wreckage is amid search for missing sub
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- 4 people found dead at home in Idaho; neighbor arrested
- When a prison sentence becomes a death sentence
- Why Are Hurricanes Like Dorian Stalling, and Is Global Warming Involved?
Recommendation
Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
What lessons have we learned from the COVID pandemic?
U.S. charges El Chapo's sons and other Sinaloa cartel members in fentanyl trafficking
ESPN's College Gameday will open 2023 college football season at battle of Carolinas
Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
Khloe Kardashian Shares Adorable Cousin Crew Photo With True, Dream, Chicago and Psalm
Timeline: The Justice Department's prosecution of the Trump documents case
Khartoum's hospital system has collapsed after cease-fire fails