Richfield senior living community raises $4K for Annunciation Catholic Church
A month and a half later, and the Twin Cities community is still healing and feeling the pain of the Annunciation Catholic Church shooting.
Village Shores Senior Living Community in Richfield, Minnesota, is located just a mile from the church, and did something special to make sure those impacted by this violence feel loved.
On Sunday morning, Village Shores hosted a pancake breakfast and fundraiser for Annunciation. It was a moment for this community to linger a little longer in the common spaces and share some much-needed comfort with one another.
"You know that everybody is going through it at the same time," said Mary Davis, a resident of Village Shores, along with her husband, Merlin.
The Davis family has deep ties to Annunciation Church and School. Mary Davis used to teach there, their children were students at the school, and their daughter was married at the church.
"I feel very proud that [Village Shores] would do something like this," said Merlin Davis.
"It's an impact that's not just felt by the parish and community there, but the ripple effect is literally all around the country and all around the world," said Mary Davis.
Residents were very generous on Sunday morning, donating over $4,000 to Annuication. They also signed a large card to give to the school, and the Village Shores staff decorated over 100 residents' balconies with green and blue ribbons.
"Just letting the Annunciation community know that we're all thinking of you, we're all here for you and we're all still praying for you," said Ann Huseby, marketing director at Village Shores.
While this is a beautiful moment for everyone to come together, Merlin Davis says that donating is just one part of healing. He wants to see more done.
"What I'm afraid of is that it's not 'if' it's going to happen again, but 'when.' Something has to be done to prevent it from happening. We have eight grandchildren and they shouldn't have to be afraid to go to school or go to church," he said.
Merlin Davis wrapped some of the blue and green ribbon around his walking cane. When WCCO asked him how long he plans to keep the ribbon on his cane, he responded, "Hopefully when they pass the legislation, I'll take it off."