During a vigil held for those who passed after one of the deadliest mass school shootings in US history, Chicago Cubs first baseman stood up and called for change. On Wednesday, news spread of a mass shooting that occurred in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. 17 were killed, 14 of which were students and 3 faculty.
Rizzo’s Support for the Community in Recent Years
Before showing his support to the Parkland and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School community, [[Anthony Rizzo has always been giving back in whatever way he could. He has donated up to $150,000 to install modern lighting at the high school’s baseball field and raised $100,000 more in January just to finish the project. He’s also hosted an annual “Walk-Off for Cancer” for the past six years at the Pine Trails Park, the same park stage he stood to offer support and encouragement to a grieving crowd. Just this year, the annual walk-off raised as much as $960,000 for the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation which is going to be used to fund cancer research as well as provide for families who are battling cancer.
Rizzo Visits Hometown of Parkland
On Wednesday, Anthony Rizzo left training camp to be with his family and the community of Parkland after the tragedy that occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. He attended a prayer vigil where he spoke, addressing the crowd and addressing the need for change. He stood on the same stage where he hosts his charity walk-a-thon. Never did Rizzo think a time would come where he would stand on the same stage to support the community after a great and tragic loss.
According to Rizzo, he grew up in Stoneman Douglas, went to classes in the school and played on the fields. In the five minutes he made his speech, he commended students with how well they are coping after the loss of classmates and friends. He also praised the faculty, coaches, and first responders that were on the scene. Before ending his speech, he also made a plea to end gun violence. His cry and the plea of the community is being echoed all over the nation of America where 8 school shootings have been reported so far this early in 2018. People are calling for change with many challenging the system to keep guns away from young children to avoid any more incidents like this in the near future.
Chicago Cubs Offers Support to Rizzo
Anthony Rizzo left camp with the support of his teammates and manager. Joe Madden, Cubs manager, even offered to help Rizzo with whatever he needs to help the devastation that happened in his community.
Cubs third baseman, Kris Byrant, knows the feeling of such loss in a community all too well when it happened to his own hometown in Las Vegas. Bryant’s friends and his sister-in-law were present during the Oct. 1 concert held in Las Vegas where 85 people were killed and hundreds more injured after a gunman opened fire from a hotel.
At the time of writing, the suspect identified as Nikolas Cruz has confessed to his crime and is currently awaiting trial.
