5 years after Parkland, families cope through good works.
at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School five years ago Tuesday, their families were left with a burning question: How do we go on with our lives while honoring our loved one’s memory?
Still, she said, “it is really important to remember that no matter how many ‘good things’ have come out of the aftermath, no one is ever the same again. No one loses that pain.”. Putting aside political differences, those families work with lawmakers nationally to see tougher school safety regulations enacted, train administrators to conduct more thorough threat assessments and assure threats reported to the FBI are passed to local law enforcement. The group also promotes gun safety.
“We want to do everything that we can to create a safer school environment,” said Lori Alhadeff, who was elected to the Broward County school board nine months after the shooting. She is now its chairwoman. “We want to make sure that are protected and that they come home alive.” , which pays for underprivileged children touched by gun violence to attend sleep-away camp — and return annually if they maintain good grades and stay out of trouble. This summer, 250 children will participate.
“We are much smaller than a lot of the other charities and foundations of the other families,” said Joseph Chiarella, the fund’s treasurer. “But we plan to expand as needed and requested.”Aaron Feis, a security guard and assistant football coach, hurried to the building after being told a gunman was inside, but he was shot just as he got to the door. The 37-year-old, who had graduated from Stoneman Douglas, received the National Football Foundation’s gold medal for his actions.
The charity provides college scholarships to dancers, special needs children and students who want to go into helping fields, like physical therapy. , which pays for foster children to participate in travel league sports and martial arts and dance lessons. Those can cost more than $1,000 for each child, something foster parents usually can’t afford and don’t get reimbursed for.“I’ve always liked sports as a way to help kids as a mini life lesson,” Tom Hoyer said. “The fact that Luke played sports and knew that these kids couldn’t go into these programs, it seemed like a good fit and the right thing to do.
As part of the process, the scholarship recipients learn about Gina and what she stood for, her father said. That helps the family cope. They also go after Democrats, including President Joe Biden. Invited to a gun bill signing at the White House last year, Manuel Oliver shouted “You have to do more!” at Biden before being escorted out.
Alaina did volunteer work through her church, including cleanup after 2017′s Hurricane Irma, and took part in the ROTC. She loved watching crime shows on TV, Spanish music and her dogs, and she wanted to be a mom. His daughter, who wanted to be a lawyer, was known for her outgoing personality and her love of working out. To honor her love of exercise and fun, the foundation also builds playgrounds, including one costing $1 million not far from Stoneman Douglas.When Helena Ramsay was a little girl, she would go with her mother to the community garden in the park near their home to help plant vegetables, build the beds and paint signs.
After his 14-year-old son Alex died, Max Schachter ended his insurance practice and made promoting school safety his full-time mission. He joined the state commission with Ryan Petty and started, traveling the country learning the best security practices and presenting those to school districts, law enforcement and government officials. The foundation’s website also has a dashboard where parents in several states can examine safety data for their child’s school.
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