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(UVALDE, Texas) – When students in Uvalde, Texas go back to school in September, they’ll have new picnic tables to sit and gather around.
Many of their classrooms will be stocked with school supplies, from new books to new pens and pencils, all donated by strangers. And some children will go to school on the first day on new bikes, also donated by strangers.
It’s all part of a national, grassroots effort to help the community after 19 students and two teachers were killed in a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24.
“For the Uvalde community, it’s just letting them know they’re not forgotten,” said Amanda Stevens, a mother of two from Dallas, Texas. “We will be here and we will honor their losses and support them with whatever they need.”
Stevens is one of the organizers of an effort to fulfill the wish lists of Uvalde teachers, specifically teachers at Robb Elementary.
Across the country, as back-to-school approaches, many teachers are posting public wish lists of supplies they would otherwise have to pay for out of pocket, including everything from snacks for kids to books, educational materials and classroom supplies like tissues and hand sanitizer. .
Wish lists are often shared on social media, where strangers can find them and donate the supplies.
For Uvalde teachers, their lists have been shared far and wide this year, with people like Stevens working hard to make sure teachers there don’t have the added burden of finding material.
Stevens works alongside Frank Gomez, a teacher at his children’s school and a Uvalde native, who said he specifically wanted to help Robb Elementary School teachers who are transferring. The superintendent of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District announced in June that students and staff would not return to Robb Elementary when the new school year begins on Sept. 6 and would instead be served “at other campuses” in the district .
“As a teacher myself, I started thinking about what happens to teachers,” Gomez said. “What will they have to take with them when they enter new buildings? How will they start?”
Gomez and Stevens said they have raised thousands of dollars in supplies for Uvalde teachers by sharing the teachers’ wish lists with their own school community and on social media. A GoFundMe started by Gomez also raised more than $5,000, which she said is being used to buy everything from books to classroom decorations to make the first day back to school seem more normal.
“Kids will see their teachers, their smiling faces,” Gomez said. “They’re going to be a little nervous and scared and all, but hopefully they’ll see their teacher and focus on getting back to school and the activity of learning.”
On the first day of school, Uvalde students will also see new picnic tables at their schools, thanks to more than $15,000 that was raised in less than a day earlier this summer.
Katie Grossbard, 29, from Los Angeles, along with two of her friends, Val Vogt and actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, was the organizer of this fundraiser. She said she and the others spoke with Uvalde school officials to find something specific they needed for the new school year.
Uvalde:365 is an ongoing ABC News series reported from Uvalde and focused on the Texas community and how it is forged in the shadow of tragedy.
“We said to them, ‘How can we help them?’ and they said, ‘We need picnic tables,'” Grossbard recalled. “We said, ‘Great, send us links to what you want. We’ll figure out how much money it’s going to cost and make it happen.”
In less than 18 hours, $15,000 was raised, according to Grossbard. He said the money has been used to purchase a dozen picnic tables that will be placed at schools to help accommodate students at Robb Elementary.
“One of the things that people in the school district talked about when we were talking about making this happen was creating a sense of community that welcomed these students with open arms and was ready for them, and it didn’t feel like they were. out of place or they shouldn’t be there,” Grossbard said. “They didn’t want it to feel like, ‘Oh, now we’re overcrowded and now you’re reminded every day that you’re not supposed to be here, you’re supposed to be somewhere else.'”
The picnic tables, Grossbard said, will also be used as places for students to sit and talk with mental health counselors as needed.
“People can sit and be together and know they’re not alone and know they haven’t gone through these experiences alone,” she explained.
The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District did not respond to ABC News for this story.
The district’s school board has held special sessions throughout the summer to plan accommodations for the new school year, including improving safety measures and allowing all K-12 students the opportunity to attend class virtually after parents said their children don’t feel comfortable going back to school in person. The district also delayed the start of school from mid-August to Sept. 6.
Tensions within the community have often spilled over at board meetings, particularly in the wake of a 77-page report by a joint committee of the Texas Legislature that criticized the police response to the incident and the lack of of school district preparation for this attack.
Earlier this month, the school district announced that Mandy Gutierrez, the principal at Robb Elementary School who was briefly suspended following the investigation into the attack, will leave the school to take a position at district administration.
District Police Chief Pete Arredondo remains on unpaid administrative leave, and the school district has recommended that he be fired.
In the midst of community pain and tension, Uvalde’s local library, the El Progreso Memorial Library, located just a few blocks from Robb Elementary School, has become a healing and community center for people, largely thanks to donations from strangers, according to the library. director Mendell Morgan.
Morgan said thousands of children’s books have been donated since the shooting, along with items such as bicycles and children’s toys.
“In a time like this, books can be a comfort, a wonderful means of escape and a wonderful way to transport yourself to a different world where there is no hurt or pain,” Morgan said. “It has always been our endeavor to bring the community here for the times when we need to be together, in times of joy and in times of pain when we need to comfort each other.”
The library has become a place of mourning and grieving through both reading and mental health counseling, as well as a place for fun. Throughout the summer, the library has hosted everything from ponies and bounce houses to a special day that featured superhero characters reading books to children, according to Morgan.
“The people are incredibly kind,” he said. “Great evil came to our community on May 24, no one can deny that, but the outpouring of good, the response has been overwhelming in the other direction and we are very grateful.”
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