WINDHAM, Ohio — The devastation left on Parkman Road doesn't match the warm souls here working to clean up. Or, strangers, who out of the goodness of their hearts, drove here to help out.
"She really wanted to come out and put her hand in," said Tiffany Labate of her 10-year-old daughter, Addison.
The mother and daughter live a few minutes down the road. They don't know anyone here; they say they were called to help.
"I was raised to when there is someone in need, you should help. Just like if we were in need, we would want someone to help us. It's kinda like paying it forward," Tiffany said.
She came to the right place to help. You may remember William Sears, whose trailer was completely destroyed in Wednesday's tornado. We came across him the day after he lost everything. Yet, all he wanted to do was help others.
"Put my boots on and tie 'em on tight and go get this done. See if I can't help anybody out anyone that needs a hand," he told us last week.
William's selflessness didn't go unnoticed. David Callaghan and his girlfriend Tammy Burt live in Edinboro, Pennsylvania. The couple said they saw WKYC's story on YouTube last week covering the tornado, and more specifically, William Sears' story. That's when they jumped into action, renting an U-Haul and loading it up with items for William.
"We were just astounded that, you know, he lost his whole place and then he was running around and helping the other neighbors," Tammy said.
"Well, a tornado hit very close to here approximately about, 37 years ago in Albion, 12 miles west of here. It really hit very close to home, you know, and I saw the devastation of that town, and just knowing you could be in his shoes. That that would be pretty bad," David said.
We found William cleaning up his property on Monday. There is nothing but an empty hole where his trailer used to be. So we wanted to bring him some good news.
We told them of David and Tammy's kind gesture and what they had gathered for him.
"It makes me feel all warm inside because the world can be a dark place sometimes and it's hard to find people who are genuine and true and honest," William said.
Sharing his feelings with us wasn't enough. So, we brought all three together on a phone call.
"Can't thank you enough for what you and your family have done for us, and would love to meet you someday!" William told David and Tammy.
"Absolutely, we have more items when you're available. A TV set," David said.
"Unbelievable," William said while shaking his head, touched by their kind gesture. "People aren't like that anymore. It's wonderful. It feels good. I'm proud to be out here with my boots tied tight. Like I said, getting her done and serving everybody and helping any way I can.
With one final thought, William shared this message of hope:
"Just feel like now I could pretty much face anything. Nothing. Nothing's gonna touch me."
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