Volunteers coalesce to help Dexter community recover from tornado

"We're doers," said one Red Cross volunteer. "I was not going to sit and wring my hands. We wanted to get out here and help as soon as possible."

Six people stayed at a shelter organized by the Salvation Army in Ann Arbor.

Most people affected by the storm have taken refuge with friends and family, volunteers said.

Jenni Hawes, the disaster public affairs coordinator with the Washtenaw-Lenawee County chapter of the Red Cross, said she anticipates additional storm victims using the shelters in the coming days.

Sara Simmerman and Margee Faber, who work for the food and nutrition department for Dexter schools, came out to the school this morning to offer assistance and check on the school's coolers since some of the locations lost power last night.

Simmerman, who lives in Milford, and Faber, who lives in Brighton, called the community support in Dexter in the aftermath of the storm "incredible."

"Everybody takes care of everybody here," Faber said. "It's a nice place to live."

The Busch's store in Dexter is giving away free gallons and cases of purified water to people and is accepting refrigerated and frozen food since so many have lost power.

Marla Booth, vice president of marketing for Busch's, said the store is keeping track of food by wrapping it up and putting residents' contact info on it. The store stayed open all night last night.

Busch's is launching a fundraiser across its 15 southeast Michigan stores, where people can round the change from their purchases up to donate to the Dexter disaster relief effort. The store itself sustained some damage to its roof.

Busch's is hosting a free community lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The store plans to stay open for 24 hours.

"We've been a member of the Dexter community for many years, and it's a very close-knit community," Booth said. "Us helping was just the right thing to do."

Groups of people are coming to the lunch and thanking the Busch's manager for doing this for Dexter residents.

Tracie Sikora, who lives in a subdivision across from Busch's and did not have any damage to her house, spent time this morning contributing to the cleanup efforts.

"We've been walking up and down Dexter-Ann Arbor Road, cleaning debris as we go along," she said. "These are our friends and our neighbors. We want to help and do something. We don't want to just sit back."

Dexter resident Meg Potter and her three kids — Grant, Claire and Grace — came to the Mill Creek shelter on Friday morning to donate clothing after witnessing the tornado Thursday.

Potter said schoolteachers are reaching out to their students to make sure they're OK.

"Teachers have said if your kids need to come by to see friends and have hugs just to reassure each other — they're so supportive, it's amazing," Potter said. "They sent emails to everybody."

People have been filtering in and out of the Dexter shelter just to rest, drink beverages and talk to people.

"We have disaster action teams out in the field in both locations assessing damage and talking with the families to try to figure out what their needs are," Hawes said. "We're also providing clean-up kits and comfort kits and support. And these assessments that we're doing are going to be giving us an idea as to a projection of shelter stays and how long it will be in effect and what type of services to provide the families."

There have been many instances of residents helping other residents on a moment's notice. Several people were using chain saws just hours after the storm to start clearing downed tree branches.

Hawes said the best move for people who want to help is to make a financial contribution to the Red Cross' disaster relief operations by calling (734) 971-5300 or visiting www.wc-redcross.org.

"I would say definitely a big question we're getting is how to help," Hawes said.

Anyone with a pet who was affected by the storm and needs assistance must call the Huron Valley Human Society at (734) 662-5585. Pets cannot stay at the shelters.

The Red Cross is not accepting donations of food or clothing at its shelters.

The Washtenaw County chapter of the United Way is accepting donated items at its office at 2305 Platt Road, Ann Arbor 48104, and the Dexter Area Chamber of Commerce office at 3074 Baker Road. To volunteer your time, email liveunited@uwwashtenaw.org.

AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey contributed to this report.