What started as a pact to do some good turned into full-fledged disaster relief, as a group of North Texas teens got to work cleaning up tornado damage.
Hearts as Big as Texas took on their first effort as a disaster relief team Saturday, working in the neighborhoods of Garland and Sunnyvale that were hit by a massive tornado last month.
Unlike other relief teams working in the area, this one is all teenagers from Saginaw High School.
The group was formed about 4 years-ago by, now 15 year-old Ryan Almusawi and his friends.
"We were at Highland Middle School, we were in 6th grade, and just wanted to make a difference,” the SHS sophomore said.
So they started under the name Charitable Crusaders, doing small projects like fundraisers to help families in need in the community.
Recently, the group decided to grow and take on disaster relief by launching a team this spring, but when the December tornadoes hit, they decided now was the time to get to work.
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So the group spent the day working alongside the Renova Community Organization with the support of the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD. They helped distribute relief supplies throughout Garland, met with residents to make sure needs are being met, and several even helped pick up debris at the Plantation Place RV Park in Sunnyvale.
Many of the teens said they’d never seen damage like that before, but hoped to use the experience to help others in future situations.
