CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Sunday was a coming together of fitness lovers. Zumba classes from all over came together to support the families of Uvalde.
“We just want to bring hope through fitness, cardio," said Jennifer Diaz, one of teh participants. But this is their way of giving back and showing the love and support to the community.”
Jennifer Diaz is a Zumba instructor who happen to hear other instructors were coming together, to support the families in Uvalde who lost someone and the children that survived.
A few dozen gathered upstairs at the Casa Ortiz Event Center, Sunday afternoon.
“The (outpouring), I mean my heart," said Diaz. "I don’t know, it just gives me peace and comfort knowing that so many people are coming together for praying for just a memorial. Just showing all the love and the light that there needs to be.”
Participants contributed $10 to bust a few moves for a couple hours in a master class, put on by instructors from the Valley, to Corpus Christi to Laredo.
Another participant, Gena Lopez, said she joined the class hoping to show Uvalde families that people care.
“Give them at least hope because it’s a very hard time right now," said Lopez. "And, this is just to let them know that they have support all over community. Not just in Uvalde, but in Texas, in Corpus Christi”
For Diaz, it means more to see her friends supporting Uvalde, because her young cousin was in Robb Elementary the day of the mass shooting.
“Uvalde came up it was like a flag," Diaz said. "It was just like, what is happening? Is she OK? Who’s there? What school was it? There like, she’s OK, she survived. She broke out. Her friend didn’t make it.”
Her first thought? How can we help.
“This community needs us, someway somehow,” she said.
“I'm a teacher, so it’s very difficult for me to handle," Lopez said. "But to actually see the devastation that really hurt the families, we need to do something.”
Several people have added a bonus donation. They are also collecting stuffed animals and care packages for those children that survived the shooting.
On Tuesday, a group including Diaz will be hand delivering the proceeds and gifts to the families in Uvalde.
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