The Burnham family is currently grieving the loss of their 10-year-old son, Arlan Garrick Coty, who tragically lost his life during a devastating tornado that swept through Tennessee on a fateful Saturday. The aftermath of this natural disaster has seen an outpouring of support from the community, especially in the form of clothing donations. However, the family has now expressed their wish to redirect these donations to help other families in need.
Arlan, a fourth grader, was among the casualties of the tornado that ravaged central Tennessee, claiming at least six lives. Unfortunately, he was unable to escape from their home, which lay directly in the path of the destructive storm, as revealed by his grieving mother, Katherine Burnham, in a heartfelt Facebook post she shared on Monday. In her post, she also confessed that she and her husband were struggling to cope with the overwhelming loss, stating, “We don’t know how to navigate through this. 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.”
Amid the devastation, Burnham highlighted the remarkable support they had received from a compassionate community. She mentioned the efforts of an “entire army of people” who had joined them in sifting through the debris of their destroyed home to salvage precious belongings, including kindergarten drawings made by Arlan. One of these drawings expressed his desire to learn how to cook with his mother, a wish they had fulfilled on numerous occasions.
Friends and neighbors rallied to provide essentials like food and assistance with laundry, while another friend set up a GoFundMe page on their behalf. Astonishingly, this fundraiser has already raised over $184,000, far exceeding its initial goal of $5,000.
In an attempt to channel this overwhelming generosity towards others in need, Katherine Burnham sent a message via Facebook, stating, “We no longer need clothes and want those donations to go to other families in need. There are so many displaced families in similar situations, my heart is broken but there is enough love and support to go around.” She went on to reflect on her son’s remarkable impact on the world, remarking, “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.” The family had two other children living with them who thankfully survived the tornado.
The tragedy also affected other families, as the Clarksville Police Department identified additional victims, including 59-year-old Donna Allen from Florida and 34-year-old Stephen Kwaah Hayes from Clarksville. Three more victims lost their lives in a mobile home community in Madison, according to the Nashville Police. They were identified as 37-year-old Joseph Dalton, 31-year-old Floridema Gabriel Perez, and her 2-year-old son, Anthony Elmer Mendez. The impact of the storm extended beyond the loss of life, with over 60 individuals hospitalized and nearly 40,000 electricity customers left without power in the aftermath.
The destructive storms caused a building at a Nashville church to collapse, resulting in 13 individuals being rushed to local hospitals, according to the Nashville Office of Emergency Management. As the community now enters the “search and rescue phase of this disaster,” as announced by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the region continues to grapple with the aftermath of this devastating tornado, with the Burnham family’s wish for redirected donations serving as a testament to the resilience and compassion of the human spirit during times of adversity.
