On March 14, a tornado hit downtown Atlanta and made national news. What didn’t draw as many headlines was a second fierce twister in rural Georgia the next day. Both tornados devastated residents of those communities, but it was the devastation wrought upon its resident animals that spurred The HSUS into action.

The volatile March 15th tornado was 10 miles wide and pummeled Jefferson County, Ga., which is near the state’s border with South Carolina. Emergency workers had to walk for miles through downed trees to reach the devastated areas around the tiny farm communities of Wren and Matthews. Dozens of farm workers who lived in the area were left homeless and penniless. Their pets and farm animals were scattered throughout the area.

“This is one of the poorest areas in the state,” The HSUS' Georgia State Director Cheryl McAuliffe said. “Their houses are gone, their clothes are gone, and most people don’t have insurance.”

On top of that, many of the farm workers had farm animals, chickens and pets—but no food.

“Fortunately, they got all the animals back after the tornado, but they didn’t have any food for them,” McAuliffe said.

So, The HSUS stepped in to fill that need.

The HSUS donated $500 and set up a special account at a local hardware store so that tornado victims could pick up pet food and feed for chickens, horses and other farm animals.

Karen Walden, pastor at Your Hope Church, who is helping in relief efforts, said, “You might have nine people living in a mobile home with 10 animals to care for ... No one will know what that $500 did to help us survive the week. It has blessed us and the animals.”