More than two dozen families were left devastated when raging floodwaters swept away cabins housing the youngest campers at Camp Mystic just seven days ago.
At least 27 girls and staff at the Christian summer camp in Kerr County, Texas lost their lives when the Guadalupe River swelled on the Fourth of July.
But some of those grieving parents are turning their tragedy into a force of good as they launch charities and memorial funds in honor of their daughters killed in the disaster.
The families of Lila Bonner and Eloise ‘Lulu’ Peck are paying homage to their girls’ love for animals by establishing foundations to help wildlife and local shelters.
Memorial funds have been established in honor of Wynne Naylor, Linnie McCown and Hadley Hanna as their families work to create foundations that reflect the light the girls brought into the world.
Donors have contributed a combined total of more than $1 million to the funds, which have all been created within the last five days.
Over 100 bodies have been recovered from the deadly Texas flood waters, including 36 children, but the death toll is expected to grow as searches continue.
At least 160 people are still missing in the flood-hit area, with many feared to be children washed away by the disaster.
Officials say they are holding out hope that some may still be found alive, with some survivors saying they clung to trees for hours in desperate attempts to remain out of the fast moving currents.
The families of Lila Bonner and Eloise ‘Lulu’ Peck are paying homage to their girls’ love for animals by establishing foundations to help wildlife and local shelters
Eloise Peck’s family has dedicated themselves to a similar mission by launching a fund to construct a shelter at Blueberry Hill Farm and Rescue in Mena, Arkansas
Lila Bonner’s family has raised more than $460,000 for the soon-to-be established Lila’s Light foundation, which aims to help animals affected by natural disasters.
‘While our hearts are aching and processing this unimaginable loss, we are determined to spread Lila’s Light into the world,’ her family wrote in a GoFundMe campaign launched three days ago.
‘Lila was a natural born leader who loved all creatures, big and small. Her confidence and determination left no doubt she would one day fulfill her dream of opening and operating an animal rescue.’
Although Bonner will never be able to see her dream come to fruition, her love for animals will carry on through Lila’s Light, her loved ones allege.
The family is still in the process of formally creating the foundation but says ‘our aim is to help ensure her legacy – and radiant light – continues to shine’.
The Bonners have also partnered with a jeweler to sell amethyst cross pendants in honor of their little girl, with all net proceeds going directly to Lila’s Light.
Eloise Peck’s family has dedicated themselves to a similar mission by launching a fund to construct a shelter at Blueberry Hill Farm and Rescue in Mena, Arkansas.
The eight-year-old started a dog walking service earlier this summer and was donating 25 per cent of her earned proceeds to the rescue, the shelter says.
The shelter, in partnership with the Pecks, will ‘keep Lulu’s memory alive’ by ‘nurturing hope and healing for animals’.
‘Lulu’s name will forever live on at BHFAR with a newly constructed shelter officially being named Lulu’s Puppy Hut,’ Blueberry Hill Farm and Rescue’s website states.
‘This shelter will provide much-needed warmth, safety, and a loving place for our foster puppies to stay until we find their forever homes.’
It is unclear how much money Peck’s fund has raised so far.
Lila Bonner’s family has raised more than $460,000 for the soon-to-be established Lila’s Light foundation, which aims to help animals affected by natural disasters
Linnie McCown’s parents are planning to create a foundation in her name, though it is unclear at that time what causes the charity will support
The McCown, Hanna and Naylor families are honoring their daughters by creating memorial funds in their honor.
The McCowns are planning to create a foundation in Linnie McCown’s name, though it is unclear at that time what causes the charity will support.
The family will be ‘able to give and care for others in honor of their precious girl – her giggles, her sweetness, the way she made people feel seen and happy’, a GoFundMe account established on their behalf states.
‘It’s such a beautiful way to carry her sweet spirit forward,’ the fundraiser, which has already amassed more than $300,000 in donations, states.
Hadley Hanna’s loved ones are creating a legacy fund that they say ‘exists to build something beautiful in her name’ and pays tribute to the ‘light she brought to this world’.
The Hadley Hanna Legacy Fund will carry the ‘joyful, creative, kind, and full of life’ eight-year-old’s spirit forward through a scholarship, memorial project or foundation.
‘Though her time on Earth was brief, her spirit made a lasting impression on everyone who knew her,’ the Hanna family says.
Wynne Naylor’s family has established a fund with the Dallas Foundation that aims to establish a ‘legacy of love of community, love of the outdoors, and love of God’.
The foundations as not disclosed the amount of donations that have been contributed to the More Like Wynne fund.
Wynne Naylor’s family has established a fund with the Dallas Foundation that aims to establish a ‘legacy of love of community, love of the outdoors, and love of God’
The Hadley Hanna Legacy Fund will carry the ‘joyful, creative, kind, and full of life’ eight-year-old’s spirit forward through a scholarship, memorial project or foundation
The grim effort of searching for victims killed in the floods continues across Texas on Friday, with the areas that disappeared underwater years away from recovery.
But the families of those little girls killed who’ve set up foundations in their daughters’ honor have been widely hailed for doing something positive amidst the darkness and despair.
Locals hope the new charities will help make sure the victims they’re named after are always remembered, while making life better for future young residents and visitors to the valley.
