Families Stay Cool at TRBC - WSET.com - ABC13

Reporter:  Carleigh Griffeth

Lynchburg, VA- Several churches and schools have opened their doors as relief centers in this heat. Perhaps the biggest is at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg.

Hundreds have gone there for relief. We were there today and in water alone, they've certainly gone above and beyond.

With the help of Gleaning For the World, they've already given out close to 250,000 bottles of water. Tomorrow they'll get 160,000 more. The families there certainly appreciate it. One little boy even celebrated his birthday there.

For eight-year-old Gavin, this power outage couldn't have come at a worse time.

"His birthday is tomorrow, the 2nd. And we were planning to have his birthday on Saturday," said Richard Lombardi, Gavin's father.

But then, Friday night, out went the power.

"Look outside. Man it's getting windy out. Next thing you know, lights are out. We were like, wonderful," said Lombardi.

With no power and no food they thought they'd have to cancel Gavin's party.

"He was a little upset at first, thinking his birthday was ruined," said Lombardi.

But thanks to a little quick-thinking and T-R-B-C, Gavin had his party after all.

"We pretty much just ordered some pizzas and had some cupcakes. Brought everything up here and just hung out while the kids were playing. And had no complaint," said Lombardi.

But it's a different story when they go home at night to sleep.

"We pretty much just lay on the floor in the living room trying to keep cool as best as we can. All the windows open and everything," said Lombardi.

And it's the same for the Silverthorns.

"No water, electricity. Our whole neighborhood is without water and electricity," said Pattie Silverthorn.

They find any way they can to stay cool at night.

"The kids slept in the closet Friday night, which was interesting," said Silverthorn.

During the day, Elizabeth gets to read her favorite Harry Potter book, and Mom and Joey play board games.

"My nine-year-old son is beating me in scrabble," said Silverthorn.

So for some families, a little bit of relaxation inside, while the chaos continues outside.