I cannot imagine the horror of sending my fourth grader to school, telling him to have a great field trip – and then never seeing him again. The mere thought of it rips my heart out.
If you don’t live in Minnesota, you may not have heard the story of the two fourth grade classes from St. Louis Park’s Peter Hobart Elementary – where I went to school as a young girl – whose field trip turned to tragedy a little over a week ago. While standing on a bluff, some of the kids were swept away in a freak landslide. Two kids were injured, two rescue workers were injured and two boys – ages 9 and 10 – did not survive. Awful.
St. Louis Park is an amazing suburb of Minneapolis, regularly named one of America’s 100 Best Communities for Young People. I feel so lucky to have grown up there. It’s no surprise that the community has rallied after this tragedy; starting today, you can bid on hundreds of items through an online auction benefiting the families who lost their children as well as to provide mental health support for Peter Hobart children deeply impacted by the event and losing their friends.
I personally want to thank the dear hearts who said YES when I requested donations for this auction (I just had to help and this was the only way I felt I could make a small impact). Huge thanks to the awesome radio stations at Hubbard Broadcasting, to psychic-medium (and St. Louis Park grad) Suzanne Krupp, and to the many artists who sent in their beautiful work – including Marianne Richmond, Briana Goetzen of Orange Spiral Arts, Denise of Deeder the Beader, Sweet Bee Honey & Crafts, Noelle Rollins Art, Cate Metzyk of Wild Ruffle, and Mara Olden of Dragonfly Adornments. Thank you to everyone who has collected donations, offered their own services or products, and organized this awesome auction.
And thank YOU for checking out the auction, wherever you are. You are a light in the dark for families facing the unthinkable.
(Note: The online auction runs through Wednesday, June 5th. Other items have been reserved to be auctioned off at an event for Peter Hobart families).
