Valentine natives react to narrowly missing tornado

BENNINGTON, Neb. -- With dozens of tornadoes wreaking havoc across eastern Nebraska on Friday, many people originally from the sandhills experienced the storms.

John and Christen Shelbourn are originally from Valentine but have lived in Bennington with their three kids for the last 14 years. The couple was less than a mile away from where a tornado hit.

“Many of our friends and community members have lost their homes,” Christen said.

Here are some videos that Christen shared with News Channel Nebraska.

The Shelbourns have been busy helping friends clean up the damage.

“Bennington is an amazing community who have already rolled up their sleeves and have started diving in to help,” Christen said.

Christen said that people can help by dropping off items at St. John’s Church in Bennington.

“We could use plastic bins to help people pack what is salvageable, heavy duty trash bags to pack anything up to move out of the property and bottled water,” Christen said.

Other items that can be donated are work gloves, rakes and tools to clean up debris, along with gift cards and snacks that don’t have to be refrigerated, such as granola bars.

In Elkhorn, you can also donate your time to help tornado victims. Volunteers can meet at The Relevant Center and will be assigned a job site.

If you are not in the area, you can also give back by buying “Nebraska Together” apparel at Huskers.com. Nebraska Athletics will donate royalties and all proceeds to the Red Cross to help local relief efforts.