SOME CHARITIES TO HONOR PARKLAND SHOOTING VICTIMS:
Meadow’s Movement honors Meadow Pollack, with its fundraising efforts going to “Princess Meadow’s Playground,” a subset of Betti Stradling Park in Coral Springs that was named for Meadow, who used to play there as a child.
Carmen Schentrup ALS Research Fund honors Carmen Schentrup, who had planned to become a medical researcher and discover a cure for ALS. The research fund in her name continues to grow exponentially and donate to the most promising research. A teacher at Stoneman Douglas also set up the Carmen Schentrup Memorial Award, a music scholarship for high-achieving soloists.
The Chris Hixon Foundation honors Chris Hixon and provides scholarships to student athletes with good grades and volunteer hours at each of the three schools where Hixon worked as an athletic director. The foundation hosts an annual memorial run fundraiser every February.
Orange Ribbons for Jaime honors Jaime Guttenberg and donates to charities that were important to Jaime. Those include the Broward County Humane Society, where she volunteered; the dance company Jacob’s Pillow; and the Paley Institute, where she dreamed of being a physical therapist. It also is dedicated to pursuing common-sense gun-safety reforms. The charity’s newest initiative is Paws of Love, providing emotional support dogs to people affected by gun violence.
Make Our Schools Safe honors Alyssa Alhadeff and works to encourage school-safety initiatives. Its success include the passage of Alyssa’s Law, legislation addressing law enforcement response time when a life-threatening emergency occurs.
Safe Schools For Alex honors Alex Schachter and provides the most current school-safety best practices and resources to students, parents, school districts and law enforcement. The organization is raising funds to take its school-safety dashboard nationwide.
Change the Ref honors Joaquin Oliver and uses urban art to expose the harsh effects of mass shootings in America. The organization encourages young people to get involved, fight for their values and beliefs, and have their voices heard. It currently has a penalty flag for change campaign underway.,
Peter Wang Foundation honors Peter Wang, a member of the JROTC who held the door open for fellow classmates during the shooting. The charity set up a scholarship to help disadvantaged students as well as make donations to organizations Peter supported.
WalkUp Foundation honors Alaina Petty and works to create a speaker’s
bureau of school safety experts as well as develop educational seminars and effective behavioral threat assessment programs.
Luke Hoyer Athletic Fund honors Luke Hoyer and gives children the opportunity to experience a sport by providing equipment, uniforms, practice gear, and travel fees.
The Scott J. Beigel Memorial Fund honors Scott J. Beigel, the geography teacher and cross country coach at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. It sends at-risk, underserved children touched by gun violence to summer sleep-away camp. It has just formed a partnership with Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches 20 at-risk, underserved children touched by gun violence to the Ranch by tapping a $15,000 grant.