Current:Home > MarketsHer 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. -Elevate Capital Network
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:2025-04-11 17:49:10
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! (37262)
Related
- Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
- CEO shooting suspect Luigi Mangione may have suffered from spondylolisthesis. What is it?
- CEO shooting suspect Luigi Mangione may have suffered from spondylolisthesis. What is it?
- 'We are all angry': Syrian doctor describes bodies from prisons showing torture
- Elon Musk's skyrocketing net worth: He's the first person with over $400 billion
- Pakistan ex
- 'Unimaginable situation': South Korea endures fallout from martial law effort
- 'We are all angry': Syrian doctor describes bodies from prisons showing torture
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- Orcas are hunting whale sharks. Is there anything they can't take down?
Ranking
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Biden says he was ‘stupid’ not to put his name on pandemic relief checks like Trump did
- Here's how to make the perfect oven
- Only about 2 in 10 Americans approve of Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter, an AP
- Rams vs. 49ers highlights: LA wins rainy defensive struggle in key divisional game
- Stock market today: Asian shares retreat, tracking Wall St decline as price data disappoints
- Australian man arrested for starting fire at Changi Airport
- Rebecca Minkoff says Danny Masterson was 'incredibly supportive to me' at start of career
Recommendation
Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
How Hailee Steinfeld and Josh Allen Navigate Their Private Romance on Their Turf
Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
Wisconsin kayaker who faked his death and fled to Eastern Europe is in custody, online records show
US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
Alex Jones keeps Infowars for now after judge rejects The Onion’s winning auction bid
The Daily Money: Now, that's a lot of zeroes!