By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
OXFORD TWP. — Oxford High School students Tristan Krajcarski, Sarah Gibbons, Amelia Brown, Kathryn Dupras and Sierra Musial are raising funds for a therapy dog for Georgia Apalachee High School shooting survivors, according to a press release from Monday.
The efforts are part of an International Baccalaureate project created by seniors at the high school, who are part of the last graduating class to experience the 2021 shooting, during which Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Justin Shilling, 17, Hana St. Juliana, 14 and Tate Myre, 16, were killed and six other students and a teacher were injured.
The OHS creators of the project have been personally comforted and supported by the therapy dogs at OHS and want to offer the same support to other school shooting survivors, the students said in a news release.
“While we cannot prevent the tragedies that have impacted our lives and others, we can offer support. By providing a therapy dog to Apalachee High School, we hope to bring emotional security, comfort, and healing to students and teachers,” the students said. “Supporting other survivors not only helps them find solace but also gives us closure and strengthens our drive to create meaningful change.”
The students will travel to Apalachee High School in February to support students and staff, present safety measures to the district and donate the funds. The dog will be a student resource and rotate between classrooms.
Students have raised $5,000 of the $8,000 needed to pay for and train the dog, according to a press release. Oxford Boosters Club agreed to pay for the team’s travel expenses to Georgia.
For more information, visit bit.ly/therapydogdonations.