DENVER (KDVR) — Days after a shooting rocked Evergreen High School, the community is coming together to rally around the victims and students at the school.
Beau Jo’s is already a popular spot for pizza, but guests over the last few days have shown up for a good cause as well, raising money for Jeffco Public Schools.
Beau Jo’s employee Nataly Gutierrez loves Evergreen.
“It’s a small mountain community, we’re all in this together,” said Gutierrez.
An Evergreen High School graduate, she was devastated to hear the news of the shooting this week.
“I live down in Golden and I came up here for a safer community, and it’s really sad that had to happen up here,” said Gutierrez.
Her co-worker, Maddie Russell, felt it hit close to home as well; she’s also a teacher at an elementary school.
“As teachers, like, in the back of our minds, we think, like, when’s the next time it’s going to happen? We have to be prepared for it,” said Russell.
Crushed by the tragedy, but given hope, now, at work. Beau Jo’s, since Thursday, has been raising money for Jeffco Public Schools; 20% of all sales are heading to the district.
“I keep telling everyone I know, like, please come to Beau Jo’s, you get pizza and it’s for a good cause,” said Gutierrez.
Not everyone here is from Evergreen, or even Colorado. Emme West and her family are visiting from Texas and just arrived in town earlier Saturday, happy to help after learning about the shooting on the news back home.
“When we walked in, they told us about the fundraiser, so we decided to support the business,” said West.
A current high schooler herself, West hopes Evergreen’s students are able to make the difficult transition back to school.
“Just be kind to everyone so nobody feels the need to do those types of things,” said West.
Support from around the country for the community they love, which Russell says means the world.
“It just goes to tell you that people actually have good hearts,” said Russell.
Beau Jo’s will continue its fundraiser tomorrow as well if you want to come out and support. They said based on sales from the last two days, they’re expecting to raise a few thousand dollars total.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
