I believe in working together. It was February of 2007 when the Trolley Square Shooting happened in Utah. My neighbor was one of the victims that was shot and killed.
In high school I was apart of the Peer Leadership Team. We would go around to elementary schools and teach them about being drug and violence free. A couple of days after the shooting we were at a school and my group did not have a class to teach. We were sitting in the bus talking about what happened and how it had affected so many people. Our whole school was having a hard time because my neighbor’s children also went to our school. During the shooting my neighbor and his son were together and was one of the first victims. They were walking out to the car when the shooter shot my neighbor. He blocked his son when he was shot, but the son still received some major injuries. He went to the hospital where he was in intensive care. We wanted to find a way to help but did not know what a group of teenagers could possibly do in a situation like that. We soon decided that we could just go around to houses and ask if they would like to donate money for the family. We got up and started to go around neighborhoods. In less then a hour we were able to raise more then nine hundred dollars. It was amazing how much we could actually do. We soon decided that we should collect enough money for all of the families that were affected by the shooting. We spent the rest of the day out collecting money from compassionate people. During that day my group really became close and had a wonderful feeling that we were able to help in a way that may not be huge but could take away one little worry from the families.
From this experience I learned that by working together you can make a difference. It may only just be a small one but it can add up and be greatly appreciated. I will always remember that day and how we were able to come together and help someone that was needing that warmth and care of their community around them.