We may have our differences, but when it comes to a disaster, we come together.

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: When Red’s daughter, a freshman at Belmont University in Nashville, let us know that tornadoes were forecast for later that day, we never could’ve imagined the magnitude of the event; and we felt helpless when in the middle of the night Sawyer let us know all the dorms had gone into “sheltering” (thank you, Belmont, for your preparedness!) as a tornado’s path was forecast to pass through campus.

But while Sawyer was lucky in that she and her classmates were ultimately safe, the next morning, no one could quite believe the utter devastation, extraordinary destruction, and countless lives that had been lost due to tornadoes that tore through six states, hitting Kentucky especially hard. The stories of heartbreak, of loss, and of heroes, will continue and it will take years to recover.

There really isn’t much more we can say except that it’s times like this is when we all want to do something, anything, to help … so we’re going to repeat what Axios editor Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath, who's based in Louisville, Kentucky, suggests:

Donate

• Western KY Red Cross Disaster Relief
• United Way of Kentucky
• The Salvation Army
• International Medical Corps
• Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund: First expenditures include funeral and burial expenses for families who lost loved ones.
• CARE is accepting donations to get food, water, and emergency cash vouchers to Kentuckians.
• Several local organizations in affected states, including Kentucky, Arkansas and Illinois are accepting monetary and other donations.

Give blood

• Find a blood drive near you. Those in Kentucky can also check out kybloodcenter.org.

Be smart: Before donating to any organization you're not familiar with, check out their profiles and rankings on sites like GuideStar and Charity Navigator.