EVERGREEN, Colo. — What started as an effort by a group of mothers to give thank-you notes to first responders after the Evergreen High School shooting ballooned into a night of healing Tuesday for more than 100 community members.
Two students were wounded in the Sept. 10 shooting at Evergreen High after a 16-year-old classmate opened fire before turning the gun on himself. The shooter, whose motive for the shooting remains unknown, died of his injuries that same day.
“It was a very hard day for all of us, but at the end of the day, we had hundreds of people who raced to our rescue with bravery and courage,” said Tyler Guyton, Evergreen High School co-student body president.
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Evergreen High School students and residents gathered at Bergen Park Church Tuesday evening to thank the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and Evergreen Fire Rescue. The Thank the Helpers campaign, a group of local moms who wanted to help after the incident, handed the agencies 866 thank-you notes collected in the weeks after the shooting.
First responders got to hear for the first time how the shooting affected the young students. Sergeant Nick Rhodes with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office evacuated confused and terrified students that day.
“Hearing their side of it and how they were able to have some form of relief as soon as they heard the sirens coming,” Rhodes told Denver7. “It was such an amazing moment for the community members, the students, and the staff, first responders to share this moment.”
Tuesday's event coincided with National First Responders Day.
Also honored that evening were nontraditional first responders like Evergreen Library staff, the Wulf Recreation Center staff, and the volleyball team that sheltered students that day.
“It’s a stage of grief to acknowledge the people who have helped us get through this," Guyton said. "Obviously, when any community goes through this, nobody can go through it alone, and it's unhealthy to grieve and be isolated when dealing with this type of trauma. So we have to thank the people who helped us."
First responders at the event said their job is not over.
"This is going to be a lifelong thing that these kids and staff and community members are going to remember forever, and we will continue to be by them, by their sides, and continue to support them in any way that we can," said Rhodes.
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Thank the Helpers organizer Laura Kuehl helped host the event and organize the note-giving campaign. They collected 1134 affirmations for students and 866 thank-you notes for first responders. The letters came not just from Evergreen community members but from all over the country.
Rhodes said the notes are on display at three sheriff's office precincts.
The gratitude is not over. Guyton said they plan to thank the 100 organizations that helped the community.
“We can look at September 10 as six minutes of really terrible harm, but in the six minutes after, in the six weeks after, we can be defined by the hope and the unity of our community,” Guyton said. “That's what it means to be Evergreen strong.”
