NewsWaukesha Christmas Parade

Actions

Waukesha Strong: Locals create song, make hats to raise money for parade attack victims

WAUKESHA STRONG.png
Posted at 2:02 PM, Nov 21, 2022
and last updated 2022-12-01 13:09:37-05

WAUKESHA -- We have seen people showing they are here for our community countless times in the past year. Over that time, the color blue has become a huge symbol of unity in Waukesha.

In this report, we share two different ways the color is being used to raise money for victims of the Waukesha Christmas parade tragedy.

One of them is a song dedicated in memory of the victims of last year's parade attack, created by two perfect strangers.

Austin Hecker reached out to musician Gabriel Sanchez to create a special song called 'Blue Light.'

WAUKESHA.PNG

Sanchez said, "I was like I'll help you. I did one myself, so can’t hurt to do more. The more there is, the better to raise more money."

Hecker added, "I would love to raise money for the memorial fund. I hope they get closure, love and faith."

Hecker is still memorizing the lyrics, which includes the lines:

"Our pain, slowly drifts away.
Our love, always here to stay."

Click here to listen to the Blue Light song.

PIANO.png

Meanwhile in New Berlin, Alyssa Dawson and her four-year-old daughter Cambrea are creating bright blue Waukesha Strong hats, to raise money for the Waukesha County Memorial Fund. Alyssa said, "If I can fill the streets of Waukesha with the blue hats and hope to show somebody that we're here for them and everybody else is here for them."

Alyssa says her sister and nephew were at the parade when tragedy struck. Thankfully, they were not hurt.

"I certainly could not imagine my life without my daughter, so to know that so many people around us are going through this is just - it makes me emotional every time I think about it," Alyssa says.

Small acts of kindness show we will never be torn apart.

WAUKESHA2.png

"He can take so much away from our community but he has put a lot back into it by giving us this sense of comfort and community that we all have each others back," said Alyssa.

Click here to learn more about the Waukesha Strong hats.

Report a typo or error // Submit a news tip