Students helping students in Henryville - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

A group of high school students is reaching out to help teens in Henryville recover from tornado damage to their homes and school.

The Beech Grove Marching Hornets thrive through song. Ninety miles south, the Henryville Hornets march to the beat of their own soundtrack.

Though these two groups have never met, they share many common bonds, including the love of music and high school mascots.

So when Henryville was destroyed by tornadoes March 2, it only made sense for Beech Grove to rally around those now left with nothing.

"Having that connection that they are in Indiana and they are also Hornets makes it even a deeper connection that you want to help them," said senior band member Jessica Hall.

The Beech Grove Hornets want to fill a band trailer with everything from pens to notepads and cleaning supplies and tooth brushes. They're collecting anything and everything to help the Henryville Hornets rebuild.

"We're in contact with the Henryville school system and they are letting us know what products they actually need and we are collecting for them today," said band boosters president Rick Knight.

With the images of destruction coming out of the small Indiana community, senior Carly Knight says she can't imagine not helping.

"When something goes wrong at home, I want to be at school and when something goes wrong at school, I want to be home and the thought of not having those two outlets was just so touching to me and I wanted to give back to them as soon as I could," said Knight as she helped load a case of water into the trailer.

While students work to replace what was destroyed inside the school, they hope to give much more.

"This is just a little token to say it's going to be okay and you are going to get through this," said Hall.

"I think that we all need to remember though this is temporary relief, it's at least relieving that hopelessness," said Beech Grove music department chairman Scott Bradford.

The group of students, who gathered to work on Sunday afternoon, stopped loading the truck just for a moment to sing a song of hope for their cohorts down south.

Through the healing power of music, this community is determined to lift spirits and to show these Hornets they are not alone.

Beech Grove will be collecting items to fill the trailer until March 23. Students will escort the trailer to Henryville on March 24. In addition to supplies, students have collected more than $300 in cash for the school.