Former Marine Shawn Triplett of Mayfield, Kentucky organized a fundraising campaign for children who were made homeless by the multiple tornadoes that hit the South and Midwest areas of the United States last week.
The Christian Headlines said Triplett, who served in various war zones including Afghanistan and Iraq, was shocked by the destruction brought by the tornadoes that he was moved to initiate a fund drive to buy toys for the children.
"I've been deployed three times, I've seen war zones, I've seen absolute destruction, and nothing compared to it. I mean, the whole town was just leveled," Triplett said.
"It was the whole spectrum of emotions. I felt pain, I felt sadness, depression and anger all at once. I wish there was a word to describe it. That moment of trauma, it just builds up and then it just kind of hits you," he added.
More than 30 tornadoes ravaged the states of Kentucky, Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, Mississippi, and Tennessee on Friday, November 10, until Saturday morning leaving more than 100 people dead, more than 20 injured, and hundreds of houses and buildings destroyed. People were trapped in collapsed structures such as Mayfield Consumer Products factory in Kentucky and the Monette Manor in Arkansas.
In an interview with CNN, Triplett recounted how he was in total disbelief upon returning to Mayfield the next morning after the tornado left since everything was destroyed and debris was everywhere. He moved his family that Friday to a hotel room in Paducah, which kept them safe since it was not on the path of the storm.
Triplett later that day encountered the broken down movie house and families staying in shelters where he saw a woman console her son "over their lost Christmas" that it just broke his heart and couldn't sleep that night.
"It was very heartbreaking. It was way too much for me to handle. That shelter was full of kids that had nothing but the clothes on their back and they're sleeping on cots," Triplett shared.
The next day, Triplett decided he must do something about it recalling the need for rations and essentials such as bottled water. He went online and called out to friends for donations so he could buy toys and gifts for the children at Walmart. He posted photos he took the day before - and his post went viral, receiving thousands of comments.
After posting in his social media, Triplett was even more shocked by the response of the people, both friends and strangers, to his fundraiser that he was able to buy $2,000-worth of toys at Walmart. He was even able to go back the next day as more funds came in at $6,000.
"It just really blew my mind. The support has just been astronomical," Triplett revealed.
The money was then spent on board games, backpacks, forty pair of shoes, and other toys. He has sought the help of others to help in wrapping what he bought so he could give them to the children and their families.
Since then, his fundraiser has been mentioned in various websites causing more donation to come in. Triplett then went a step further by creating a GoFundMe campaign hoping to accumulate $40,000 in funds. He hopes that through it, he would be able to help these families begin anew before Christmas.
"I'd like to point out that 100% of all funds raised will be used in the purchase of toys. There is no overhead costs and all extra costs will be funded by me personally," Triplett emphasized in his GoFundMe. As of this writing, Triplett has accumulated upwards of $42,700.
