Co-worker charity gives staff member hope
September 16, 2009
By Brittney Meyer
Staff Writer
The tornado that hit the Springfield area on August 19, left a wake ofdestruction in its path, including the home of UIS clerk, Dawn Tompkins. |
"I was stunned, to say the least [with the amount raised]. My mouth just hung open when they told me how much money was raised and put it into my hands,” recalled Dawn Tompkins, a victim of the tornado that rampaged through Williamsville on August 19. “at that point, I wasn't capable of thought...it felt like I was dreaming, but I couldn't move. I couldn't talk. I couldn't cry.”
Staff clerks in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean's Office organized a bake sale on Sept. 3 and 4, which raised over $1,300 to aid Tompkins.
On Wednesday, Aug 19, 2009 at approximately 3:30 p.m., a vicious tornado tore through Tompkins’ 100-year-old house in Williamsville, IL The cyclone lifted her dog into the air, tore her house apart and collapsed her son’s room.
“My dog was lifted out of the house by the tornado and flew through the air,” explained Tompkins, a staff clerk in the Applied Study Term office.
On that day Tompkins took the afternoon off from her job in Brookens Library to visit a friend in hospice care.
“It felt like I was dreaming, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t cry” -Dawn Tompkins
“I heard the Springfield tornado sirens go off and helped my friend take cover,” said Tompkins.
She never expected a tornado to destroy her house like it did.
“I thought it was just a bad thunderstorm,” added Tompkins. “Williamsville never gets hit by tornados. The last one was in 1950 or something.”
During the storm, her neighbors witnessed her house slowly getting ripped apart which included watching Tompkins' dog get lifted into the air. The dog obtained one cut to her leg and was rescued by a neighbor.
After the storm hit, AST student worker Emily Brigman called Tompkins and told her that the Casey’s General store in Williamsville was destroyed. She then decided to find out more before heading back home.
“After Emily called me, I called a neighbor to get some info...she said my fence was gone, my garage was gone, my roof was gone and half my house was gone. I laughed thinking she was joking. She was serious," said Tompkins. "Her house had also sustained serious damage too."
Tompkins' son was in Chicago at the time and was not in his room that was decimated by forceful winds.
“The firemen who went in to my house told me [my son] would have been killed if he'd been there," said Tompkins. "They said if anyone had been in the house they'd have been killed because of the amount of glass shards embedded in the walls.”
When friends and faculty at UIS heard about Tompkins’ loss they brainstormed ways to help. Along with raising money in various offices, staff members cleaned out their closets to give gently used clothing to Tompkins, who had only the clothes she was wearing.
The biggest moneymaking idea came in the form of a bake sale, to be held in the Public Affairs Center.
“I knew there were a bunch of great cooks on campus, but the amount and variety of great stuff sold was amazing,” said Tompkins about the sale. Other items sold included a donated quilt and novelty cakes. All proceeds from the event were given to Tompkins.
Tompkins said she has been overwhelmed by the support given by university staff. "People have been so generous and kind," said Tompkins. "I will never be able to thank anyone enough, the UIS family is wonderful!”
Tompkins continues to work in the AST office. Donations can still be made directly, or to the CLAS Dean’s office.
