Man raises money for Jefferson City family whose house was hit by a tree

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man is trying to raise money for a family who woke up to find a large tree had fallen on their house.

Ronald Swanson says his gym director at Capitol Kids, Melissa Church, had part of her home severely damaged by storms that rolled through Mid-Missouri on Tuesday.

The Church family describes their house on Bald Hill Road as their “forever home” after moving here from California.

Melissa’s husband, Heath, served two tours in Iraq and was injured by a piece of shrapnel. They live with their two young children, Scarlett and Solomon. The Church family described the noise as an explosion. Around 2 a.m. Tuesday, the family awoke to what they thought was the sound of thunder.

That noise turned out to be the sound of a tree crashing through the side of their home, inches away from their son Solomon’s bed.

“I looked out the window and I saw just a dark shadow,” Heath Church said. “That’s when I jumped over the bed and he started screaming.  He came out and he was covered with all kinds of stuff.  A very traumatic experience and he was shocked at the time."

The tree left a large hole in their roof, totaled Melissa’s car and damaged both of the family’s upstairs bathrooms.

“I heard the loud 'boom.' And when I woke up, I saw the bathroom and Solomon’s room and started crying,” 8-year-old Scarlett Church said.

Crews removed the tree and helped clean up some of the damage. But the family said they are still concerned about what might happen if more storms roll in. They currently don’t have an estimate of the damage.

Ronald Swanson is no stranger to storm damage. Five years ago, his business was destroyed by a tornado. Melissa Church began working for Swanson as the preschool director at Capitol Kids where she now serves as the gym director. When Swanson found out about what had happened he wanted to find a way to help

“Seeing as someone who's been through a disaster I know there are a lot of extra costs that don’t get picked up by insurance,” Swanson said.

The GoFundMe has already raised more than $900.

“Every time somebody reaches out to us I’m constantly in tears about it,” Melissa Heath said. “We're not used to it. The support that we’ve had from the community and our friends, my bosses, it’s a true blessing.”

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