SANTA FE, Texas — No amount of money could ever heal the pain victims and family members have endured since the horrific Santa Fe High School shooting. There is, however, a lot of money being raised that will need to be doled out.
An estimated $825, 977 has been collected by the National Compassion Fund and the organization expects more to come in, according Director Jeff Dion.
Parents gathered Thursday night at the Santa Fe Strong Victims Fund town hall meeting to discuss how hundreds of thousands of dollars will be distributed to victims. The Santa Fe Texas Education Foundation and the National Compassion Fund are collecting donations until Sept. 30, meaning none of the families will see a dime until October.
“What is this money going to do for us in October,” Rosie Yanas asked. Her son, Chris Stone, died in the shooting. “My lights almost got cut off the other day. What is the money going to do for us in October?”
A steering committee made up of people who are not victims or related to victims of the shooting have created a proposal designating who would be eligible to receive money.
Those include:
- Survivors of the eight students and teachers killed
- Victims who required overnight hospitalization
- Victims who were treated at area hospitals but did not require an overnight stay
- Victims who were inside the art lab who may have suffered physical injury or emotional distress
“It’s a tough situation, and we were grateful that the people took time to come and share with us and ask their questions,” Committee Chairperson Danelle Tibaldo said.
The committee will review the feedback and will meet next week to come up with a final proposal.
“Once that protocol is in place, we will get the application process open so that they can submit the information we need to categorize them and get the funds out to them,” Tibaldo said
The committee says their goal is to be fair and to help families as best as they can.
100 percent of the donations will go directly to victims and their families.
If you would like to donate visit the National Compassion Fund website or the Santa Fe Texas Education Foundation Facebook page.
