OGDEN, Utah - Community members in Ogden have raised thousands of dollars to help the family of one of the victims in a Connecticut elementary school shooting.
Emilie Parker's family grew up in the Ogden area, but a new job opportunity recently moved them to Newtown. She was among the twenty 6- and 7-year-old children gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary.
A silent auction was held Saturday at Ben Lomond High School, where Emilie's parents graduated. Several dozen businesses donated items to be auctioned off. Most of them sold at full price.
"There's a guaranteed price. So if somebody absolutely has to have it and they are willing to pay that price they can take it and go buy it now," said Lindsie Nielsen, who put together the fundraiser. "We just decided we would do something small. And once word got out we were just getting non-stop phone calls."
Items included ski passes, season tickets to the Raptors, Jazz tickets, jerseys and more. All proceeds will go to the Emilie Parker Memorial Fund.
But for the community, it was more than just money, but a way to reach out to the Parker family and bring them back home.
"We knew they would want to come back to Utah and they need some way to bring their family back to Utah," Nielsen said.
The silent auction and vendors raised $9,000. The Parker family says they plan to use only a portion of the money. They plan to donate the rest to other victims' families.
