WASHINGTON — There are several ways people can give back after a shooting that killed five people at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis Thursday.
The Red Cross is not accepting monetary donations to specifically help the Capital Gazette and its staffers after a gunman opened fire in the Annapolis newsroom Thursday afternoon, killing five. However, events like these are a good reminder about the importance of blood donations, said Red Cross Communications Director Jonathan McNamara.
“We always encourage blood donations because that allows the hospitals to have the resources they need to respond to events like this shooting,” McNamara said in an email to WTOP.
Also, a GoFundMe page has been set up “to help the Capital Gazette newsroom and their journalists,” according to the page, which was set up by a Bloomberg Government reporter Madi Alexander. While Alexander does not work for the Capital Gazette, the page ensures the Gazette’s staff will be consulted before any funds are withdrawn or distributed.
“Our hearts break for our colleagues in Annapolis and we want to do whatever we possibly can to help them pay for medical bills, funeral costs, newsroom repairs, and any other unforeseen expenses that might arise as a result of this terrible shooting,” the page says.
Alexander told the Baltimore Sun that she felt called to set up the page after the shooting.
“It just seemed like something needed to be done, and no one had done it yet,” Alexander said of the fundraising effort to the Sun.
People may want to take this time to send messages of support and comfort to the paper, McNamara added. They can do so through Twitter, Facebook or by leaving messages at a makeshift memorial outside the Capital Gazette’s building along Bestgate Road in Annapolis.
