Greenfield middle schoolers showcase artwork honoring lives lost during Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
GREENFIELD, Pa. (KDKA) - This Friday marks five years since the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, and all week long at KDKA-TV, we've highlighted the people in our community, both young and old, showing support.
"As people have said, there was one bad guy that day and thousands and thousands of good people out there doing good work to end the hate," said Ron Wedner, Andrea Wedner's husband.
At the Greenfield School Tuesday, three middle schoolers hope their artwork honors the lives lost.
"We had the lights to show the light rather than the darkness of the situation."
Maci Eads, Geffen Blumenfeld, and Hailey Jordan worked in short bursts for weeks to complete the artwork.
"I think we all connected to the shooting or had it affect us in some way," said Eads, an eighth grader at Greenfield.
The three big trees represent the three synagogues: Tree of Life, Dor Hadash and New Light, and the 11 trees represent the 11 lives taken too soon.
"I think the trees and butterflies mostly represent the love and the kind of the community as well to show how much we care and how much we're thinking about them," said Eads.
"I feel really proud because it took us a really long time, and I'm happy it turned out nice," said Blumenfeld, a sixth grader.
The three girls feel honored to volunteer alongside other local students at the commemoration this Friday and told KDKA-TV's Meghan Schiller their parents feel proud.
"They're proud because I'm involved in something big and it means a lot to other people and I got to do that," said eighth grader Hailey Jordan.
It means a lot to Andrea Wedner and her husband, Ron, too.
Andrea survived the shooting and said her mother, Rose Mallinger, would be happy to see this.
"Anything that does good she would be happy about because she was such a good person, she had a big heart, she loved everybody, no matter what they looked like where they came from."
The Wenders say about seven schools will send about 60 student ambassadors out Friday to greet people at the commemoration, hand out programs and make people comfortable.
