By Megan Wehring
In the wake of a tragedy that took 21 lives at Robb Elementary School, the Butt family and H-E-B announced they will donate $10 million to help build a new elementary campus in Uvalde.
“Our first store in Uvalde opened in 1959, and Uvalde people are our people,” said Charles Butt, H-E-B’s Chairman, in a news statement. “As we continue to mourn tremendous loss, I join with my family and H-E-B in working to ensure the Uvalde community can move forward from this tragic event. Our children are this country’s future, and our schools should be a safe place where children can thrive and envision new possibilities.”
The family and H-E-B, supporters of public education, will work with other stakeholders and organizations on the project development. Texas firms Huckabee and Joeris General Contractors, which are also founding donors, made commitments to donate their services and time to this project, which will help the children, families, staff and Uvalde CISD community move forward together.
Built in the 1960s, Robb Elementary serves approximately 538 students in grades second through fourth. The school has been permanently closed, and while a timeline hasn’t been determined, plans are in place for the school to be demolished, ensuring students and staff will not have to return to the building at the site of the tragedy.
The new campus will be designed to enhance educational offerings and implement state-of-the-art safety and security measures, and infrastructure to support the availability of new technology.
The location and design of the new campus and timeline for the project have not been determined.
H-E-B also launched a donation campaign last month and announced it would commit $500,000 to support the victims and families affected by this heartbreaking event. Earlier this month, the H-E-B Tournament of Champions Charitable Trust also announced a $500,000 donation to support nonprofits helping fellow Texans in Uvalde.
For those who would like to join the effort, contributions to support this project can be made by donating to the Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation, a nonprofit charitable organization established to help raise funds for the new elementary campus as well as serve the immediate and ongoing financial needs of Uvalde CISD. Donations can be made by visiting UvaldeCISDMovingForward.org.
