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Churches To Give Tornado Victims Good Thanksgiving

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Damage lingers from a fast-moving tornado that touched down last week, leaving thousands of dollars in damage behind.  Now some churches are reaching out to victims, just in time for Thanksgiving.  Gigi Barnett has more.

Sky Eye Chopper 13 was over the wreckage Wednesday after the National Weather Service confirmed an overnight tornado blew the roofs off of three apartment buildings in northeast Baltimore.

Now, days later, the cleanup continues as the Thanksgiving holiday draws near.  Now several churches are coming to the aid of victims.

Shanora Johnson is a member of Ebenezer Outreach Ministries.  She hopes the canned goods she collected will have special meaning this year.

"This is around the holidays and it's really going to be tough.  We just wanted to do what we could," Johnson said.

The National Weather Service says the tornado was on the ground for less than a minute, but it damaged more than 350 buildings.

"I've never ben in a war but the pictures I've seen--it was an absolute war zone," said Sandra Wilson.

Friendship Baptist Church is about one mile from the affected area.  Members collected a special offering for victims on Sunday morning.  Friendship's pastor, Alvin Gwynn, says some of the victims attend the church and this year's Thanksgiving may be bittersweet for some.

"We have somebody bigger than us that helps us," Gwynn said.

City leaders say many of the victims who were displaced by the tornado have already found permanent housing.

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