By C.J. Vetter
KYLE – A donation drive was held for those impacted by the Uvalde shooting by Hays Latinos United (HLU).
A volunteer group from HLU accepted donations at Tobias Elementary School on June 5 for the Uvalde community. Signs were placed up, and donors could drive their vehicles up to the school to have their items unloaded. Also in attendance were Kyle Mayor Pro Tem Robert Rizo and HLU president Dr. Michelle Cohen, both of whom assisted in the unloading and transporting of the donations.
The goal of the drive was to provide supplies and comfort to those who survived or were directly impacted by the attack at Robb Elementary School. Items such as food, water and clothing were collected, as well as toys, coloring books and blankets. The more basic items will be given to families that request them, while the latter will be given to children awaiting meetings with counselors or therapy.
“I think a lot of us are torn apart by what happened and feel the need to do something,” Cohen said. “So this is our opportunity to do that, and that’s why we’re here today.”
Cards and flowers were also accepted, and were delivered to families as a sign of support alongside the other supplies. At the end of the drive, HLU volunteers packed everything within a trailer and drove it directly to Uvalde to be distributed.
“Hays Latino United was started by Hays County Commissioner-elect Dr. Cohen. We are a small group of individuals coming together for the community. We decided to host a donation drive today for the community of Uvalde,” said Joshua Sanchez, HLU coordinator. “We know Uvalde is in mourning and we wanted to help those affected by the tragedy.”
HLU is a local organization based around community support and health, and originated from efforts to help vaccinate the local latino community within Hays County. It has since grown in size, and in addition to focusing on vaccinations, also offers support to the larger community of Hays and beyond. HLU also plans to host additional donation drives for Uvalde in the near future.
