Brayden & Courtney McLaughlin of Lincoln, Neb., woke early on the morning of Sat., Aug. 9, to a thunderstorm crashing around them in their early 20th century, two-story home. Soon, a massive limb from a backyard tree broke off and crashed into their roof. It landed directly above their bed, with plaster falling onto them. Fearing the worst, they raced to the bedroom next door, where plaster had fallen onto their sleeping 20-month old son, Sean. Thankfully, he was unharmed -- in fact, he was still sleeping, though covered in broken pieces of plaster and dust.

The McLaughlin’s quickly realized they had extensive damage to their beautiful home. The roof is essentially destroyed. It shifted off the front and side of their home. But they're resilient and will work to rebuild.

This is a much-loved, beautiful, and vibrant family. Brayden and Courtney each make significant contributions to the Lincoln community.

Insurance will likely take care of most of the damage. Our hope is to relieve them of any burden of their deductible, to help provide housing while repairs are made, and to cover other unanticipated costs as they sort through this disaster.