Granger family forfeits vacation to volunteer their time towards helping Kentucky tornado victims

GRANGER, Ind. --- One Michiana family is trading in their vacation this year to give back to Kentucky tornado victims.

The Granger family originally planned to escape winter weather in Florida, but after seeing the devastation in Mayfield just several days ago they decided to spend their vacation providing relief support.

“When I was going through trauma as a child it was the first responders that were there. Who were helping me get through it and reassuring me that everything was gonna be okay and that tomorrow was a better day than the day before. So for me this is just my way of paying them back," said Renee Thornton, collecting donations for Kentucky victims.

Thornton is a crisis counselor who typically works on trauma recovery for first responders.

After seeing the destruction left behind by tornados in Kentucky just several days ago, her and her family decided to forfeit their vacation to Florida - instead deciding to donate their time to help victims in Mayfield by providing crisis and electrician services.

“They had something one minute and then half an hour later they’re standing in their front yard looking at an empty basement. So just wanted to do something that would give them back a sense of normalcy," said Jeff Dornbush, collecting donations for Kentucky victims.

In their packed up SUV the family will make the trip south come early next year, but first they’re inviting community members through a post on Nextdoor to donate anything they can for the families affected.

“We’ve had more than 60 comments and in this case I just posted it because I thought we are such a giving area that there would be people who might want to be a part of this and oh my goodness people are fantastic," said Thornton.

For those interested the family is collecting donations through drop offs on their front porch and while this is the first time they’ve ever done something like this, Dornbush says it could become a tradition.

“We’ll have to see how this goes. I’m sure it’ll be a positive experience all the way around and hopefully we’ll feel good about it when we’re done," said Dornbush.

Donations will be accepted at 51405 Amesburry Drive in Granger until December 31st.