By 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning, freshman roommates Rachel Cooke and Christina Fullerton had already traveled two hours from Covington, Tenn., to Savannah, Tenn., to help victims of the Feb. 5 tornadoes, and after spending the day helping out, they came away with a plan to make a difference in one small community.

Although originally going to help the clean-up at Union University, the girls’ plans changed when they heard about Sharon Baptist Church and Savannah Christian Academy.

“We knew Union would be full and these people really needed help,” Cooke said.

Her mother, Norma Cooke had heard of the destruction of the church and decided to drive the girls, along with Cooke’s boyfriend, to see what they could do.

Tuesday’s half-mile-wide tornado had reduced the 81-year-old church and Christian school to rubble.

Cooke and Fullerton, part time Jazzman’s cashiers, described the scene of teachers, parents and church members trying to salvage what they could before the demolition crews began towing.

“They [Sharon Baptist] lost everything but their important financial records,” Cooke said.

The girls helped retrieve three car loads full of books from the school and began helping separate the wood from metal in hopes of recycling some resources.

When they had retrieved all they could, Cooke and Fullerton drove around to the neighboring houses to hand out bottles of water to people trying to recover what they could from their homes.

Although the tornado left some homes nearby unscathed, others only had foundations left.

Bruce and Donna Conner, who lived across the field from Sharon Baptist Church, had lost nearly everything.

“ The man had lived there all his life,” Fullerton said. “The house was demolished.”

The Lee students took a particular interest in this couple and are planning to organize volunteer groups as well as try to collect monetary donations to help out.

“We hope to help them put their life back together because they are basically starting from scratch,” Fullerton said.

The main source of information about their efforts will be posted on the Facebook group, “Students of Lee who think that we should help the victims of the tornado,” started by a mutual friend Sara Eva Sargent.

Those interested in helping Cooke and Fullerton make a difference in the lives of those touched by this tragedy can contact them through this group or by looking for flyers across campus.