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Ribbons, yard signs for Annunciation victims pop up across Minneapolis, thanks to boots-on-the-ground effort

Finding out how to show support for victims of the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis is one of the big questions many have right now, with multiple people telling WCCO that online fundraisers just simply aren't enough.

Ribbons and yard signs across the city are pure evidence of community members showing support with boots on the ground.

Linda Nucci has an organized spreadsheet of neighbors preparing for pickup.

"It's awful. It's absolutely awful," Nucci said.

She ordered a mass quantity of yard signs from a local printer and took to Facebook, telling neighbors to come and get them.

"When anything like this happens, you just want to feel useful. You want to take that energy or that grief or that, you know, uncomfortability and figure out what can you do with it," she said.

And she's not the only one. Sarah Henning is one of eight newly connected community members who facilitated a plan for adorning street poles and trees across the city with ribbons made from plastic tablecloths.

"[We met up at] eight o'clock on Thursday night, and by 10 p.m. we had a plan for how we wanted to reach out and mobilize the community," Henning said.

The group's working alongside a more private few that are close with families of the victims, which include 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski, who both died from their injuries.

"We're building the plane as we fly it a little bit," Henning said.

And nearly 300 volunteers helped Henning's group on Friday, tying nearly 3,000 ribbons.

"We were able to get ribbons into Fletcher's neighborhood yesterday, and we've had several neighbors reach out about what that meant," she said.

Team efforts, hoping to hit the heart.

"Every time you talk to somebody you're hearing a different story," Nucci said.

"I want them to experience unbelievable love after unbelievable tragedy," Henning said. "That's why we're doing it."

If you're looking to help and don't know where to start, click here to find WCCO's list of how you can support the victims.

The Annunciation Catholic Church community gathered on Saturday evening for the first Mass since the attack.

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