Like many of you, I am broken-hearted and I don’t know what to do with my anger. The losses experienced by the families in Uvalde and Buffalo—and the countless others lost to gun violence in this country—are unimaginable. As a mother, daughter, partner, colleague, friend, human being—I am at a loss for words about how to support our collective emotions. It is an impossible feeling to lose loved ones to disease or a pandemic, but we have to feel another level of grief for the losses that could have been prevented.
As a leader on a mission to serve you, I know that, especially as women, grief and fear can fall hardest on all of us. In stressful times, we are the ones who hold our families and loved ones together. Making it more critical than ever that we find ways to prioritize our own self-care and mental health —as hard as it may be.
My grandmother always used to tell me, “the only way to go is through.” And if the only way to go is through, I will take my undercurrent of anger that is aching within me and channel it into gratitude. For my family. For my loved ones. And for all of you.
We are women. We move mountains for our communities every day. We change hearts and minds. We nurture and protect. We bring people together. Lean on each other now. Lean on us.
I also want to share some resources for those of you looking for extra support or a way to support others, which you can find below.
You are not alone. We are Kindra, and we will get through this together.
Resources
- Robb School Memorial Fund
- Set up by the school district to support Robb Elementary families at the First State Bank of Uvalde. You can send checks through the mail (payable to the "Robb School Memorial Fund") or donate money through Zelle to robbschoolmemorialfund@gmail.com.
- Uvalde Victims Relief Fund
- Created by University Health the fund will be used to support the families while their loved ones are at University Hospital. Donations will be used to cover any unpaid medical expenses, lodging, food, and other needs identified by our social workers.
- Sandy Hook Promise
- The mission of Sandy Hook Promise is to end school shootings and create a culture change that prevents violence and other harmful acts that hurt children, through proven, evidence-informed Know the Signs programs and sensible, bipartisan school and gun safety legislation.
- Verified Hub by GoFundMe for the families and individuals in Buffalo
- BuffaloTogether Community Response Fund
- This group is working with their community to address the needs in rebuilding, and focus on issues that have marginalized communities of color
- FeedMore WNY
- Helps address issues of food insecurity in Buffalo and has an emergency response fund created for disturbing food and donations to those in need.
- Everytown for Gun Safety
- A movement of more than 8 million mayors, teachers, survivors, gun owners, students, and everyday Americans coming together to make their own communities safer by introducing evidence-based solutions.
Thank you for this message and for NOT being political. Thank you for listing actual helpers. You just made me a lifelong customer.
— Leslie Herbert
Thank you for this. I am already a fan of your company and this makes me more so.
— Kathi Williamson
A beautiful response to a tragic event. Thank you for your words and sharing the links of support.
— Susan Bowman
I just LOVE this message. You have summed up perfectly my thoughts, emotions, and anger as well. My immediate thoughts are always, “what if this happened to one of my grandchildren, or anyone in my family”. At first I felt guilty and selfish for thinking about myself, but I realize that it is my way of internalizing the grief of all the victims of this senseless violence, and trying to empathize and make it somehow a little more real, because honestly sometimes it feels like we are living in a terrible movie.
— Donna Owens Coggeshall