Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Whether It's Giving Blood or Money, Help Start the Healing
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 5 years ago on
November 20, 2019

Share

In the face of tragedy, resilient cities pull together.
Thus I ask every Fresno resident and business to do what they can to support the families of the victims in Sunday’s mass shooting that killed four men and wounded six others.


Listen to this article:
 


Portrait of GV Wire News Director Bill McEwen
Bill McEwen
Opinion
There are are many ways to help.
One is giving blood.
On Wednesday, there will be a blood drive from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at City Hall. The mass shooting has created a shortage at the Central California Blood Center.
If you can’t make it downtown, use this link to locate the blood center branch or blood drive closest to you.
You already are making a positive difference.
“We’ve seen close to a 20% increase on donors coming out to our centers in the last two days,” said Ersilia Lacaze, the blood center’s director of marketing and community development.
“That equates to several hundred units more than what we’d typically have. We are extremely grateful for the outpouring of support from our community and ask that folks keep coming out to continue to build our inventory.”

GoFundMe Account Set Up

Fresno City Councilmembers Miguel Arias, Nelson Esparza, and Esmeralda Soria, along with Hmong community members, announced on Tuesday the creation of a victims’ fund. Their goal initially was to raise $130,000. That has been raised to $500,000 based on the overwhelming needs.

“We are extremely grateful for the outpouring of support from our community and ask that folks keep coming out to continue to build our inventory.” — Ersilia Lacaze of the Central California Blood Center 
“We want to make sure that the families’ funeral bills and the medical bills of those in the hospital are covered,” Arias said.
The good news, Arias said, is that several Fresno businesses and individuals have made substantial pledges to get the ball rolling.
The Fresno Center, which was the lead organization in establishing the Hmong Resettlement Task Force, is overseeing the account. Those wishing to send checks can mail them to:
The Fresno Center, 4879 E. Kings Canyon Road, Fresno 93727.
Should you have questions, the number to call is 559 255-8395.
Donations can be made via the GoFundMe Fresno Mass Shooting Victims Fund online at this link.

Crime Stoppers Reward Fund

On Monday, Valley Crime Stoppers offered a $5,000 cash reward leading to an arrest of one or both of the gunmen who turned a Sunday night football party into a massacre.
The councilmembers want the reward to grow to at least $50,000, and they’re well on the way. All seven have committed $5,000 from their district budgets, and Mayor Lee Brand is kicking in $5,000, too.
“We want to make sure that there’s enough incentive to encourage tips that will lead to the apprehension of the perpetrators,” Arias said.

Everyone Has a Role

Fresno Police Chief Andy Hall and his team have the big job of tracking down the shooters.
When they are caught, Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp and her office will take over.
Before, during and after, we’re part of the mission, too.
We must support our neighbors — the families of those who were killed and the injured survivors — and help them deal with the grief and the nightmares they’ll endure.
By helping them heal, we heal ourselves.
We’re all in this together.

DON'T MISS

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

DON'T MISS

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

DON'T MISS

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

DON'T MISS

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

DON'T MISS

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

DON'T MISS

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

DON'T MISS

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

DON'T MISS

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

DON'T MISS

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

DON'T MISS

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

UP NEXT

How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?

UP NEXT

How Trump Can Earn a Place in History That He Did Not Expect

UP NEXT

Demography Drives Destiny and Right Now California Is Losing

UP NEXT

Defining Deviancy Down. And Down. And Down.

UP NEXT

How Three Trump Policy Decrees Could Affect California Farmers

UP NEXT

Donald Trump Is Already Starting to Fail

UP NEXT

I Can’t Wait for Matt Gaetz’s Confirmation Hearings

UP NEXT

Let the Games Begin: 2026 Campaign for CA Governor Looms

UP NEXT

Why Trump’s Deportations Will Drive Up Your Grocery Bill

UP NEXT

Dems Still Dominate California, but Their Voters Have Drifted to the Right

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

2 hours ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

3 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

3 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

3 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

4 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

4 hours ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

4 hours ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

4 hours ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

5 hours ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

5 hours ago

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

NEW YORK — Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, was chosen Thursday by Donald Trump to serve as U.S. attorney general hours after...

40 minutes ago

40 minutes ago

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

2 hours ago

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

2 hours ago

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

2 hours ago

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

President Joe Biden with Mary Barra, the chief executive of General Motors, at the Detroit Auto Show, Sept. 14, 2022. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to erase the Biden administration’s tailpipe rules designed to get carmakers to produce electric vehicles, but most U.S. automakers want to keep them. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
3 hours ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

3 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

3 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at First Horizon Coliseum, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Greensboro, NC. (AP/Alex Brandon)
4 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend