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Local non-profit mourns shooting victims
The deadly shooting at the Juneteenth celebration in Round Rock was devastating for the Boys and Girls Club of Austin. Both of the victims killed were affiliated with the non-profit.
AUSTIN, Texas - This Juneteenth, two families are grieving the loss of a mother and a wife.
The pain of their deaths is felt by an extended family, of sorts, too: The Boys and Girls Club Of the Austin Area.
"It feels very close to home for us," said Zenae Campbell, the CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of the Austin Area. "This rocks all of us as part of the Austin community, especially when it is so tragic and senseless."
She said Lindsey Vicknair, a mom of three, enrolled one of her children in its programs.
Ara Duke had been working with them for a couple of years.
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"The strength of our work is really in the people that work alongside of us," said Campbell.
Duke was a liaison at IDEA Rundberg.
She helped students get involved with the club, finding care for kids whose parents had late shifts or programs that could help a child with social skills.
"She was the main person on campus that was able to connect those kids and the families directly to us, so she was really critical for us and really for us, we see her as an extension of staff," said Campbell.
Instead of flowers, the Duke family is asking people to consider a donation to the Boys and Girls Club of Austin in her honor.
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"We are just really, you know, I think grateful at this point to the Duke family in terms are thinking of the organization as a space to honor Ms. Duke," said Campbell. "That has been very humbling for us as an organization."
The Boys and Girls Club said it is providing mental health services for its staff and getting each of the families impacted the resources they need because that's what family and community do in times of tragedy.
"It's really important for us to come together as a community to connect, to talk, to reflect, to allow time to grieve with one another," said Campbell. "That is something we are here to support at the Boys and Girls Club."
Click here to visit the Austin Boys and Girls Club's donation page. Leave a note saying "In Memory of Ara Duke."