MILWAUKEE — A large crowd gathered to raise money for the victims of the Waukesha parade in downtown Milwaukee on Wednesday night, including former Brewers All-Star Jonathan Lucroy.
About 300 people turned out for the event at 3rd Street Market Hall, which is set to open sometime in 2022.
Besides his time with the Brewers, Lucroy says his daughter was born in Waukesha, and he got married at the Waukesha County Courthouse. When he heard about the tragedy at the parade, it impacted him on a personal level.
"We can obviously try to help financially and try to help some of these families out, and that will always bring some sort of a little bit of solace to their situations, and I hurt for them," Lucroy said. "My family and I, we hurt for them, and it's not only us, it's people across the country as well."
"We have kids, right, and so you think about those affected," said 3rd Street Market Hall owner Omar Shaikh. "The goal is just to raise money and try to help these families as much as possible."
Officials say the United for Waukesha Community Fund has raised about $5.3 million. They said they have gotten 30 applications and have started giving initial payments to about 14 families.
"We met personally with five of the families, and every single one of them has said how important it is for them to receive those dollars because of the needs that they have," said Waukesha County Community Foundation President Shelli Marquardt. "But then secondly just they have expressed that they had no expectation for this and that they just really can't believe how the community has stepped up."
"It's the season of hope and we're seeing it live right here," said Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow. "People coming over to support individuals they may not even know."
That includes people like Cathy Trimboli and Toya Hackstein, who say they couldn't miss the chance to show up for the people of Waukesha.
"It's so great to see the community come out and support the families of Waukesha and the people that were impacted," Hackstein said.
You can still donate to the United for Waukesha Community Fund here.
