HOUSTON — The Houston Texans announced Wednesday the team is donating $400,000 to the Robb School Memorial Fund.
The fund is supporting the families of the students and teachers who lost their lives in last week's school shooting in Uvalde.
Texans CEO Cal McNair said it was the players' idea to collect money for the families. Team members, coaches and staff donated $200,000 and the Texans' front office matched the total.
Editor's note: The story above on ways to help Uvalde originally aired on May 25.
“Texans care about Texans, especially in times of triumph and tragedy,” McNair said. “I’m so proud of our players for championing this effort and was inspired to support our neighbors in Uvalde alongside them. I also know we have a great responsibility to lend our voices to important and meaningful conversations that bring awareness to senseless gun violence.”
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For some of the players and staff, the tragedy feels personal. The team's head athletic trainer, Roland Ramirez, attended Robb Elementary and knows some of the families affected.
Many of the players and coaches have children of their own.
“No words can help those parents, life is going to be changed forever," said linebacker Christian Kirksey, who is a father. “There’s a responsibility with having a gun. We got to find a way to get guns in responsible people's hands.”
In support of the Uvalde community, Texans players and staff will wear orange on Friday, June 3, which is Gun Violence Awareness Day.
"Whether it be a church, grocery store or school … some place should be sacred to us," Coach Lovie Smith said. "Just seems like something has to be done.”
It began in 2015 in honor of a 17-year-old Hadiya Pendleton who was shot and killed on a local school playground in Chicago. Hadiya's friends honored her memory by wearing orange on her birthday because it's the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others. The idea sparked a national movement that has since expanded to the first weekend in June.
The Texans are encouraging Houstonians to join them in wearing orange on Friday. Fans interested in contributing to the Robb School Memorial Fund can donate directly with First State Bank of Uvalde by mailing a check payable to the Robb School Memorial Fund. They can also donate directly through Zelle to robbschoolmemorialfund@gmail.com.
TXU Energy donates $250,000
Also Wednesday, TXU Energy announced a $250,000 donation to the community of Uvalde and the organizations working to provide help in the aftermath of the mass shooting.
“The entire TXU Energy family grieves alongside the people of Uvalde and fellow Texans in this time of immeasurable tragedy,” said Scott Hudson, president of TXU Energy. “While there are no words for the level of loss the impacted families and this community are experiencing, we hope our donation provides them with some comfort and support as they navigate the weeks and months ahead.”
The $250,000 donation will directly support victims’ families, as well as nonprofits and medical institutions providing essential response services.
- $100,000 will go to the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, operating the Uvalde Strong Fund in support of victims, their families and non-profits supporting all of the people in Uvalde.
- $100,000 will go to the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County, which has established a United with Uvalde fund to support the Uvalde community with immediate and long-term mental health resources.
- $50,000 will go to Uvalde Memorial Hospital, where doctors and nurses treated 15 people wounded in the Robb Elementary shooting. Funds will be used to support the hospital and its staff.