MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Lt. Andy Seiler and his colleagues have been busy at work Wednesday at the Salvation Army Family Store, but it wasn’t how they had planned.
"We were wondering but we didn't think it would be this bad," Seiler said.
They arrived early in the morning to find strong winds had blown out a front window, but inside it was much worse.
"We came thinking it would just be a few repairs and maybe some water damage from it going inside the window but when we actually opened the door and came inside we realized the roof had been ripped off and everything in our back section had been ruined, all the water damage from that," Seiler explained.
About $50,000 in goods had to be thrown away.
"All of our furniture was ruined, all of our clothes, household items, books, anything you can imagine would be damaged by water was hit in just the span of one night," Seiler said.
They said it would take months to rebuild.
"It’s kind of surreal for me right now,” store manager, Mark Sheridan said. “I'm going through the motions of cleaning everything up, I mean I almost broke down once.”
His employee's well-being was one of his biggest concerns.
"Are we going to be continued to be paid, are we going to continue to have a job?" Sheridan asked.
Throughout the community there have been many who rely on the Salvation Army's help, but for now they'll have to wait.
"So the people we help with all that money we make are going to be affected first and foremost," Seiler said.
Seiler said they would rebuild at their location on Front Street, but they would need the public's help to do it.
"To be able to rebuild the store, to be able to put in new carpet, fixtures and things like that," Seiler said.
Anyone wanting to make a monetary donation could visit them online by clicking here.
