UVALDE, Texas – Flower shops are helping with funerals in Uvalde, making arrangements for families after a deadly shooting at Robb Elementary School claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers.
“When a child comes into this world, we send flowers to the mother, to the hospital and their first birthday. They come in to buy balloons and flowers for their first birthday. Then it’s pre-K graduations,” said Yolanda Moreno, owner of Country Gardens & Seed in Uvalde.
Flowers are seemingly fit for all occasions, even the unimaginable.
“This is not going to go away in just a few days. It’s going to take months and years,” Moreno said.
For almost a week, Moreno’s shop has been busy. Orders have been pouring in from all across the country.
“They all collected their monies from a senior apartment living area,” Moreno said.
“In Connecticut?” KSAT 12 reporter Leigh Waldman asked.
“In Connecticut,” Moreno said with a smile.
It’s not just the orders. It’s help from other designers and shop owners as well.
“Some ladies that dealt with the El Paso Walmart shooting -- they’re coming to help us,” Moreno said. “They know what the healing process is going to be.”
People everywhere are desperate to do something even when they feel helpless.
“How does the city reel back from this? And I think it’s with everybody trying to help and console them and share their love in any way that they can,” Belinda Benevides said.
Benevides made 21 crosses placed at the Uvalde city limits. She hopes it provides some amount of comfort.
The memorials are growing across the city, more and more are being placed. People are just trying to make some sense of what happened here while also honoring those who were killed. pic.twitter.com/KkqbFff0Gr
— Leigh Waldman (@LeighWaldman) May 28, 2022
“This was something -- a visual impact that I could do and help with hopefully healing,” Benevides said.
Henry Becerra, the lead pastor at City Church International in San Antonio, has been in Uvalde for days meeting with families individually and all together alongside President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden.
“I truly know that because of their spirit of resiliency, they will rise, and they will soar, and they are that Uvalde strong,” Becerra said.
Moreno’s flower shop is donating floral arrangements for funerals and to anyone who would like to place flowers at memorials. She knows any bit of kindness will help.