Nicole Ybarrondo is the mother of a first grader and a fourth grader who attend Silver Rail Elementary in Bend. On Oct. 15, they were inside the school when a 16-year-old former Silver Rail student shot and killed three children and a teacher. The teen also critically injured two others before he was fatally shot by Kaylub Giamanco. It would be hours before Ybarrondo was reunited with her children on what she says was the worst day of her life.
Ybarrondo and her family and many others within the Silver Rail community are grappling with grief, trauma and feelings of isolation. To help with needs both immediate and long-term, Ybarrondo created the Silver Rail Children’s Fund. Since its launch on Oct. 23, the grassroots nonprofit has collected more than $35,000 in donations from individuals and local businesses to pay for outings and services for Silver Rail survivors, their families and school staff. Those include field trips to pumpkin patches; a pizza-making and arts and crafts event; and child drop-off at a gymnastics center so that caregivers could attend a virtual meeting with Gov. Tina Kotek’s office.
Ybarrondo joins us to discuss more details about the fund and her thoughts about the district’s plans to reopen Silver Rail on Nov. 12.
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