Early on the morning of April 13, a tornado ripped through the town of Neeses, South Carolina. The tornado ─ an EF3 with winds up to 140 mph, according to the National Weather Service ─ killed two people and destroyed multiple homes in its path.

“It just sucked trees out of the ground,” said Jessica Ulmer, a Medical Reviewer II at Palmetto GBA who lives near Neeses. Ulmer and her family were fortunate not to have any damage or injuries during the storm, but others in the area were not so lucky.

A mother and her two daughters, an 8-year-old and an 11-year-old, are still dealing with the havoc wrought by the tornado. Their home was picked up and thrown, and the 8-year-old girl was hospitalized with severe injuries. She has undergone multiple surgeries and has been isolated during most of her hospital stay because of the increased restrictions in place for COVID-19.

The family lost everything in the storm. The only thing they have left is the land on which their home stood. But, through Ulmer’s help, the community has rallied around them to help them recover. Ulmer began reaching out to people on Facebook and calling family and friends to ask for donations of clothes and other items to help the family get back on their feet.

“It's the kids. I have three kids myself, and if something like that happened, I would want as much help as I could get,” Ulmer said. “I just felt like I couldn't let them be without.”

Local churches also have come together to help provide meals for this family and others whose homes were destroyed in the storm.

The area is still recovering from the tornado a month later. But in a town where “everybody knows everybody,” there are plenty of helping hands.

“You can see how the community is helping,” Ulmer said. “It's a small area and you can see the love in the community.”