Kids & Family
Oak Forest Natives Pitch in with Tornado Relief in Coal City
Chad Sprayberry organized a group effort to help out in Coal City and Diamond, Ill., after a Nov. 17 tornado devastated the area.
The song goes, "If you give, you begin to live," and Chad Sprayberry took that to heart.
The Dave Matthew Band fan found inspiration in the lyrics, and was moved to contribute any way he could to the relief efforts following a Nov. 17 tornado that devastated Diamond, Ill. and neighboring Coal City.
"It's so easy for us who didn't get hit, to go back to our everyday lives," Sprayberry said. "But they can't go back to their everyday lives."
Sprayberry, a 2008 graduate of Oak Forest High School, was joined by his sister Megan Veen, his nephew Ty Veen, and Jamie Danaher in his plan to pitch in with relief efforts. As soon as Sprayberry mentioned his plan to head to Diamond, relief supplies began flooding in from neighbors, family and friends. Sprayberry, who works at Lifetime Fitness in Orland Park, even saw donations trickle in from the neighboring suburb.
Sprayberry's crew loaded up three trucks with the donations collected locally, then headed to Diamond, where they dropped the supplies before being bused to Coal City. There, the three got their hands dirty with any kind of help they could provide.
"It was just the right thing to do," Sprayberry said, of helping out. "Seeing the damage done by the tornado was just so surreal."
The group hit the road at 6 a.m., and worked alongside strangers until the sun went down.
"Random strangers, coming together for a good cause," Sprayberry said. "It was awesome to see that."
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