VILLA RIDGE, Mo. – Families in Villa Ridge continue to dig through debris left behind by the Friday night storms. Local nonprofits are working to help replace some of what was lost. 

Glass crunched beneath Isaac Purnell’s feet as he searched what is left of his Villa Ridge home on Wednesday. Purnell was in his kitchen, eating chicken wings when the storm hit Friday night. 

“As I turned with the wing in my hands, the lights cut off, so I just threw the wing and jumped down to the deck. When I jumped down to the deck there with the door, the roof took off,” he said. 

Purnell says, luckily, not all of his kids were home at the time as a tornado ripped the roof right off of one of their bedrooms. However, his baby was home in his room in the basement.  

“I drug myself into the room to tip the crib over. As soon as I tipped the crib over, I football grabbed my son,” Purnell described. 

The baby’s room was one of the only rooms not damaged by the tornado. The whole family survived. 

Now, the community is coming together to help out their neighbors.  

“We have served close to 500 meals in the last few days,” said Dana Bowers, the founder of Load of Love Disaster Relief. 

All week long, Load of Love has stepped up to help with anything from tree removal to feeding first responders and collecting donations.  

“If you want to give gift cards, gas cards, anything of that nature, all I will say is please make sure that you verify with who you’re handing that over to that they have a registered nonprofit, foundation or organization,” Bowers said. 

Load of Love has been posting donation advice on its Facebook page here, with plans to add a list of recommended nonprofits in the area that are helping with various aspects of tornado relief. 

It has been a huge help to a town with a long road ahead.  

Purnell’s family was saving up to buy a house of their own when this hit. With no renter’s insurance, those plans are now on hold. 

“The more you chase something like that, the farther it gets. You got to really realize what’s in front of you and what’s really important. We’re happy, but we’ve got to work a little harder now,” he said. 

His family has set up a GoFundMe page for people looking to help.