In the early morning hours on Thursday March 26, 2009, a tornado swept through the community of Magee, Mississippi, leaving damaged homes and businesses in its wake. Over the next week, 23 TeachUp! Interns, serving under a grant from AmeriCorps, traveled to Magee to assist in the recovery effort. Below, in her own words, TeachUp! Intern LaShonda Bell talks about the experience she and her fellow Interns gained through their service project in Magee.

Upon entering Magee, Mississippi, the damage did not seem to be that bad, but once the TeachUp! Interns left the main highway and ventured a few miles down some of the side roads, the destruction was evident.  There were trees wrenched from the earth, road signs uprooted and twisted like pretzels, and debris strewn about.  Driving further down the road, the damage to the homes in the area became much more apparent.  Many trucks were coming and going carrying debris from properties. Clearly, for the residents of Magee, Mississippi, many of who have lived in this small town all their lives, the tornado had turned their world and lives upside down. 

Finally the cars slowed, and one after another all the vehicles turned onto a dirt road leading up to a house.  All of the Interns got out of the vehicle and began walking up to the house. The owners greeted them outside and led them into the house.  As the Interns walked through an opening where a door had once stood, the full impact of the storm became clear. All they could see when looking up was the top frame of the house, blue tarp covering some areas, and rays of sunshine beaming in through others.  A woman was standing in the house with a look of disbelief on her face.  She looked at the Interns and began to cry.  She tried to express her gratitude for any services they were about to provide, but there was nothing she could say that her tears had not already expressed. 

The Interns then went outside and looked out across the eight-acre property. There was debris scattered all around. The Interns were met by another family from down the road, neighbors who had come to help pick up debris and clear the property.  The Interns quickly joined in by picking up scraps of shingles and siding, pieces of the house that had been violently torn away by the tornado.

The end of the day brought a sense of humbled achievement to the TeachUp! Interns. They had given their time to help a family in need, but they had also gained a sense of community and the knowledge that they had made a difference in one family’s world.  The TeachUp! Interns were grateful for the opportunity to help the tornado victims of Magee through their work with DOT USA and to be members of AmeriCorps, an organization dedicated to service on a community, state, and national level.