Since 1983, Samaritan's Purse has mobilized thousands of volunteers to work with our Disaster Relief Teams to provide emergency aid to disaster victims in the United States.

To volunteer with U.S. Disaster Relief, click here.

Samaritan's Purse staff and volunteers finished their work in Trussville, Alabama, on Friday, February 3. The team was responding to an EF-3 tornado that struck the area during the early hours of January 23.

"The men working there were a blessing to everyone," said the friend of a homeowner we helped. "I thank God for Christians like you all who have given of themselves and asked nothing in return. I just hope and pray that one day I can pay it forward as much as I have been paid myself."

During the nearly two-week period in Alabama, 551 volunteers worked to help 83 families impacted by the storm.

The homeowners included Mark and Vicky, a couple with an autistic daughter that live in a house they inherited from her mother. Mark lost his job last year, and one of the ways they cut expenses was to drop their homeowner’s insurance. A tree downed by the twister put a hole in their roof, and they got a lot of water damage. Volunteers tarped the roof, cut up and removed the downed trees, and did a mud-out on the rooms that were flooded.

When we finished, Mark and Vicky moved back into their basement bedroom, and were able to get their daughter back into a routine.

"It was a blessing not only for Mark and Vicky, but for our volunteers that worked on their home," said Lloyd Blackwell, the program manager for the response.

Our Disaster Relief Unit, equipment, and staff will return to our headquarters on Saturday, February 4. Blackwell plans to stay an extra day to worship at Northpark Baptist Church in Trussville. We have been based at Northpark for almost two weeks, and the church has decided it is equipped to meet any extra needs in the community.

"The church has been an incredible host to our volunteers," Blackwell said. "We are looking forward to a time of celebration this coming Sunday."

The tornado was part of a severe storm system that pounded the Southeast, killing two people, hospitalizing 22, and injuring more than 100. It destroyed around 50 businesses and 200 homes in Jefferson County, where Samaritan's Purse is based. According to the Red Cross, at least 200 other homes were heavily damaged.

This is the second time in less than a year that Samaritan's Purse has responded to a major storm in Alabama. On April 27, 2011, we sent staff and volunteers to Birmingham and nearby Tuscaloosa when a massive tornado struck the two cities. The storms passed close to the area where tornadoes caused devastation last year.

We are still working in Tuscaloosa, rebuilding up to 20 houses for people who lost everything in the disaster last spring.