Current:Home > Contact-usHer 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.-VaTradeCoin
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:2025-01-09 11:40:07
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! (52)
Related
- The Surreal Life’s Kim Zolciak Fuels Dating Rumors With Costar Chet Hanks After Kroy Biermann Split
- Gov. Youngkin aims for a GOP sweep in Virginia’s legislative elections. Democrats have other ideas
- Albania agrees to temporarily house migrants who reach Italy while their asylum bids are processed
- US senators seek answers from Army after reservist killed 18 in Maine
- Chris Evans Shares Thoughts on Starting a Family With Wife Alba Baptista
- Moldova’s pro-Western government hails elections despite mayoral losses in capital and key cities
- Bills' Damar Hamlin launches scholarship honoring medical team that saved his life
- 32 things we learned in NFL Week 9: Not your average QB matchups
- Olivia Culpo Celebrates Christian McCaffrey's NFL Comeback Alongside Mother-in-Law
- Burrow passes for 348 yards and 2 TDs and Bengals’ defense clamps down on Bills in 24-18 win
Ranking
- Rare Alo Yoga Flash Sale: Don’t Miss 60% Off Deals With Styles as Low as $5
- 'Sickening and unimaginable' mass shooting in Cincinnati leaves 11-year-old dead, 5 others injured
- Teen arrested in Southern California restaurant shooting that injured 4 last month
- Ethiopia says disputed western Tigray will be settled in a referendum and displaced people returned
- Rafael dissolves into a low pressure system in the Gulf of Mexico after hitting Cuba as a hurricane
- Pakistan steps up security at military and other sensitive installations after attack on an air base
- Avengers Stuntman Taraja Ramsess Dead at 41 After Fatal Halloween Car Crash With His Kids
- Republican Peter Meijer, who supported Trump’s impeachment, enters Michigan’s US Senate race
Recommendation
-
See Megan Fox, Machine Gun Kelly, Brian Austin Green and Sharna Burgess' Blended Family Photos
-
Ailing Pope Francis meets with European rabbis and condemns antisemitism, terrorism, war
-
Trump’s business and political ambitions poised to converge as he testifies in New York civil case
-
The new Selma? Activists say under DeSantis Florida is 'ground zero' in civil rights fight
-
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones responds to CeeDee Lamb's excuse about curtains at AT&T Stadium
-
Prince William sets sail in Singapore dragon boating race ahead of Earthshot Prize ceremony
-
2 dead after 11-story Kentucky coal plant building collapsed on workers
-
How Midwest Landowners Helped to Derail One of the Biggest CO2 Pipelines Ever Proposed