The community honored the Parkland victims to mark seven years since the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
It’s been seven years, and it could be argued that the shockwaves from the Parkland calamity are still reverberating, from South Florida across the nation.
On Feb. 14, 2018, a gunman armed with an assault rifle mercilessly shot and killed 14 students and three staffers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Every year, Broward County Public Schools holds what it calls “a day of service and love” to mark the date, with activities designed to honor the Parkland victims at every school.
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WATCH HEREThe city of Parkland holds a memorial service at Pine Trails Park in the evening on this day, and another annual tradition has developed at the Eagles Haven Wellness Center in Coral Springs.
They released 17 white doves into the sky, a moment of powerful symbolism for the families of the victims.
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“It helps a lot to know that people remember the 17, and remember them for why they were important and why we miss them, you know the way they lost their lives was a very small snippet of who they were as a person,” said Debbi Hixon, who lost her husband, Chris Hixon.
“You learn to navigate the grief, the journey we’re on,” said Mitch Dworet to the crowd assembled for a candle-lighting ceremony, one for each victim.
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Dworet’s son, Nick, was among the murdered students.
“Thank you so much for coming out today, thank you for supporting all of us for the last seven years,” Max Schachter said after he lit a candle for his son, Alex Schachter.
“It really makes a big difference to be here with so many people who care,” said Linda Beigel, whose son, Scott Beigel, died trying to herd his students to safety.
Hundreds of people showed up in the middle of a sweltering afternoon.
“This is what helps us go on, all the love, all these people showing up for us,” said Annika Dworet, Nick’s mother.
This morning at Hollywood Hills High School, one of the many activities featured students singing karaoke love songs.
”Ultimately if I can work on teaching my students to be kind and helpful to others, I feel like we’ve done a successful job in honoring the memory of those that were lost or injured,” said Daniel Most, the principal.
The Day of Service and Love is personal to Most because he worked at MSD High School just after the tragedy occurred.
At the school district’s employee benefits center, volunteers gathered to pack care bundles for the roughly 4,000 homeless students in the district.
“Seven years after the tragedy, our district continues to heal, process, and come to terms with the devastation that was caused, the tragedy left an indelible mark on all of us,” said the superintendent, Dr. Howard Hepburn.
Seven years later, two Democrats and two Republicans have introduced a bill in Congress called the MSD Act. If passed into law, it would mandate that parents be informed of any threats to their schools and also provide funding to make schools physically safer.
“We have to take advantage of the technology that’s available and build our schools so that children and teachers are safe in their classrooms, we’re so thankful for this bipartisan effort, the MSD Act,” said Tony Montalto.
He co-founded the group Stand With Parkland after his daughter, Gina, was killed.
Montalto said Stand With Parkland worked with the members of Congress to craft the bill.
