TAYLORVILLE, Ill (WAND) - Taylorville football players and dance team members worked with the community to gather and load donations for Kentucky on Saturday. Â
"I feel like it's just a really good community switch as well do something for the school," said football player Grady Hainaut. For teens like him, helping with tornado relief doesn't feel to far off as they remember the 2017 tornado that hit their own town.Â
"We had this in 2017. Knowing that other people were there for us, we really wanted to make this an impact for all," said Ava Odam, dance team member and daughter of the football coach. They recount their own memories of local cleanup efforts.Â
"The town down in Kentucky got hit a lot harder than we did, so it's a lot more overwhelming...it sucks a lot, especially for the families who lost everything," Hainaut said. One goal they have is to make the holidays brighter for families struggling.
"It is so close to Christmas, and they basically lost almost everything," Odam said. Toys are just at the top of that list. Items donated included baby items, clothes, blankets, TVs, and more. The trailers filled up quickly with the community's help.Â
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