Current:Home > InvestHer 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. -文件: temp/data/webname/news/nam2.txt
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:2025-04-12 16:14:55
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! (3181)
Related
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Buffalo Sabres fire coach Don Granato after team's playoff drought hits 13 seasons
- The Biden administration recruits 15 states to help enforce airline consumer laws
- A big pet peeve: Soaring costs of vet care bite into owners' budgets
- Vance jokes he’s checking out his future VP plane while overlapping with Harris at Wisconsin airport
- 2 men exchange gunfire at Flint bus station, leaving 1 in critical condition
- The Biden administration recruits 15 states to help enforce airline consumer laws
- Notorious B.I.G., ABBA, Green Day added to the National Recording Registry. See the list
- USA women's basketball live updates at Olympics: Start time vs Nigeria, how to watch
- Supreme Court appears divided over obstruction law used to prosecute Trump, Jan. 6 rioters
Ranking
- 'No Good Deed': Who's the killer in the Netflix comedy? And will there be a Season 2?
- Object that crashed through Florida home's roof was from space station, NASA confirms
- Justice Clarence Thomas absent from Supreme Court arguments Monday with no reason given
- International Debt Is Strangling Developing Nations Vulnerable to Climate Change, a New Report Shows
- British swimmer Adam Peaty: There are worms in the food at Paris Olympic Village
- See Inside Emma Roberts' Storybook Home
- Idaho’s ban on youth gender-affirming care has families desperately scrambling for solutions
- Arkansas lawmakers question governor’s staff about purchase of $19,000 lectern cited by audit
Recommendation
The GOP and Kansas’ Democratic governor ousted targeted lawmakers in the state’s primary
Abortions resume in northern Arizona's 'abortion desert' while 1864 near-total ban looms
As Plastic Treaty Delegates Head to Canada, A Plea From the Arctic: Don’t Forget Vulnerable Indigenous Peoples
The Daily Money: Big cuts at Best Buy
New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
Idaho Murder Case: Truth About Bryan Kohberger’s Social Media Stalking Allegations Revealed
Southern governors tell autoworkers that voting for a union will put their jobs in jeopardy
Buffalo Sabres fire coach Don Granato after team's playoff drought hits 13 seasons