That text was inscribed across the chests of Houston Texans players and staff wearing special T-shirts for their organized team activities Wednesday.
The tees were orange in color to recognize not just the young lives lost in the May 24 massacre. The color has been a tradition weaved into National Gun Violence Awareness Day, which falls on Friday this year.
Chicago teenager Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed on June 2, 2015, on what would have been her 18th birthday. Pendleton’s friends honored her life by wearing orange, the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others, according to early-day organizers.
The support for grief-stricken Uvalde didn’t stop at just T-shirts. The Texans, the cross-state rival Dallas Cowboys, and the NFL teamed up to pledge $800,000 to the Robb School Memorial Fund, which will provide financial assistance directly to that community.
“Texans care about Texans, especially in times of triumph and tragedy,” Texans Chair and CEO Cal McNair said. “I’m so proud of our players for championing this effort and was inspired to support our neighbors in Uvalde alongside them. I also know we have a great responsibility to lend our voices to important and meaningful conversations that bring awareness to senseless gun violence.”
The Texans are rallying fans to wear orange Friday and to donate to the Robb School Memorial Fund. Donations can be made directly with First State Bank of Uvalde by check through the mail (payable to the “Robb School Memorial Fund”), or through Zelle to robbschoolmemorialfund@gmail.com. You can find more about the “Wear Orange” movement on wearorange.org.
SEE MORE: How Houston can help Robb Elementary School shooting victims in Uvalde
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