ROGERS, Ark. — Organizations and good Samaritans from across the country have joined relief efforts in Northwest Arkansas.
Regina Cane woke up to sirens and her Alexa flashing Sunday morning, leading her to look out her home in Rogers.
"I looked out and one of the trees that I lost in my front yard," she said. "I literally watched it twist and like somebody was picking a dandelion. They pulled out of the ground roots and all and it just laid across the driveway. And I just thought here we go."
A fifth-generation Arkansan, Crane grew up on the same road just a couple of houses down from her current home. The neighborhood has large, mature trees that would prove dangerous when storms come through. Although dozens were toppled, Cane said, "By the grace of God, all these trees just fell around our houses."
With her home no longer surrounded by mature trees, Cane was glad to be surrounded by good neighbors who helped her recover from the storms. According to their mission statement, Samaritan's Purse is a non-denominational evangelical Christian organization, providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world.
The organization brought trucks and other equipment to Rogers to provide free assistance to provide disaster relief.
"It's like a sea of orange shirts coming into the yard. And it just, I mean, it warms your heart. It makes you cry to see these people are from Minnesota and Texas and Kentucky. They don't owe this community anything, but they're here with open arms and supporting us," Cane said.
However, not everyone was operating heavy equipment to lend a helping hand. The Martinez family set up their tents and griddle outside Marthita's Beauty Salon in Rogers. The family said they were fortunate to not experience the tragedy their Rogers neighbors went through.
"It's sad to see the streets with so many fallen trees. Places where the day before you'd walk through and now to look around, it's sad," Luz Martinez said.
The family wanted to serve enchiladas, quesadillas, Mexican rice, and pan dulce to give the Hispanic community a familiar taste. They say while there's a lot of help and they are thankful for it, not everyone can serve up Mexican food.
"I heard people saying that they're hot, that they didn't have ... food. So I said, 'I'm going to do something for my community,'" Maria Martinez said. "Even if it's a little, because I don't have a lot of money. But I said, 'I'll do what I can.'"
No matter how big or small, a helping hand could mean the world to a community.
"This is our forever so rebuild, restructure," Cane said. "Figure out how to plug into their ministry so that, you know, for the next time whenever we're the fortunate ones, and we're not the ones with the damage we can be available to help out."
If you need help, you can call (833) 747-1234 to reach Samaritan's Purse for free assistance. They're providing chainsaw work, temporary roof tarping, and removing personal property and furniture. If you want to help this week or with any other disaster relief, you can also call (479) 644-4425 for volunteer opportunities.
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