By Anika Seth, Tacy communications intern
On August 3rd and 4th, within 24 hours, the United States was subject to two mass shootings, the first in El Paso, TX and the second in Dayton, OH. In total, 32 people were killed with an additional 51 suffering non-fatal injuries.
In response to these events, the Tacy Foundation brought 200 CDs – an assortment of classical, popular, original, and patriotic music recorded by youth volunteers over the past three years – to MCPADNET Printing for shipment to the Paso del Norte Foundation and to the Dayton Foundation on August 5th and 7th for distribution to the victims’ families and friends.
According to the Tacy Foundation’s Facebook page, through these CDs, “children and teens convey their deep sympathy and support for hope to these communities.”
On August 9th , President Michael Parks of the Dayton Foundation wrote to Tacy Foundation Founder and Artistic Director Charlotte Holliday with thanks for the CDs and promised to “make sure to deliver these to the victim advocates for distribution to the victims and those impacted.”
On August 12th, Tracy Yellen, the Chief Executive Officer of the Paso del Norte Foundation wrote to Mrs. Holliday to convey the foundation’s sincerest thanks. Yellen informed Holliday that they had “delivered these specially-hand made gifts to the Family Assistance Center in El Paso to share with victims and their families, first responders and broader community affected by this terrible tragedy.”
The Dayton Foundation is the region’s largest community foundation that has aimed to support all varieties of charitable giving goals since 1921.
Following the shooting on August 4th , the Ohio foundation established the Dayton Oregon District Tragedy Fund to allow “individuals to make charitable contributions to help the families directly affected by this terrible tragedy.” As of August 13th, over $620,000 had been donated, with Parks anticipating an ultimate total of over $1.5 million.
The Paso del Norte Foundation is a younger non-profit, having been established in 2013, with the intent to support “the philanthropic goals of individuals, families, corporations, foundations and nonprofit organizations to improve education, health, social services, economic development, and quality of life in the Paso del Norte region.”
In response to the Texas shooting, they established the El Paso Victims Relief Fund and raised over $1.8 million from over 3,400 donors as of August 9th .
The Tacy Foundation’s gift of music will hopefully help the victims and their families in El Paso and Dayton feel a small amount of light and optimism through this difficult recovery period.
Donating to the Tacy Foundation enables such CD projects by supporting production and shipping costs to help spread music to communities in need. Please click here to aid this initiative.