Hundreds of volunteers work to rebuild Donelson

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The cleanup continues in Donelson, where the neighborhood surrounding Donelson Christian Academy was hit especially hard.

For the last four days Donelson has been buzzing with chainsaws, trying to clean up what was left behind by the deadly tornado.

Hundreds of volunteers crammed into Donelson neighborhood Thursday. At one point, there was a line of cars that stretched half a mile just to get in.

Mike Powers drove in from Hendersonville, saying "I’m retired; so I’m in it for the long haul."

"A whole squad of Metro Nashville Police officers came out and I mean my yard is pretty clear now but they were just chopping down trees. I don’t know what we would have done without them," said another volunteer," said Whitney Shaw.

So now she feels called to pay it forward. And the same goes for Nikhe Thompson.

"Back on October 26 we had some straight-line winds come through Clarksville and I did get some damage and the community came out to help me so this is just one of the ways I can give back to my community," said Thompson.

Her tool is a chainsaw but her mission is compassion.

"You never know. You can’t tell how hard life will be until you’ve lost everything and have to rebuild from the ground up," she said.

They all seem to share the same vision: getting Donelson back on its feet.

"This is what Tennessee does."