$70,000 Raised To Create Memorial Statue For Hero Boy Who Saved Classmates During Shooting

In 2019, two gunmen entered STEM School Highlands Ranch in Denver, Colorado. One student, Kendrick Castillo, chose to face one of the attackers. In doing so, he gave his classmates the time needed to run and hide. Sadly, Kendrick did not make it. His sacrifice no doubt saved lives, as no one else was killed and eight were injured.

Devastated by the loss of their son, his family created the Kendrick Castillo Memorial Fund and Oversight Committee in 2022. In partnership with local government and community organizations, one of their goals is to build a memorial in his honor. It will be located near the school and a library Kendrick and his friends often gathered to do school work. Their goal was to raise $30,000 but, instead, they’ve reached $70,000 and counting.

“I said early on that I can feel Kendrick in the wind,” Kendrick’s dad, John, shares during the announcement of the memorial. It took place outside and on a particularly windy day. “Today is no different.”

In addition to the memorial, their goal is to change the name of a local road. Rather than being called Lucent Boulevard, it will be Kendrick Castillo Way. Plus, any money that isn’t spent on these two goals, or the maintenance of the memorial, will be used for a scholarship fund in Kendrick’s name.

John and his wife visit Kendrick’s grave every day. Now, they’ll be able to see a memorial created in his honor, knowing that others will remember him and his bravery, too.

“The lesson of Kendrick that day, standing up and staying, ‘It stops with me, I’m going to make a difference,’ today is a valuable thing,” John says. “When somebody’s eating Chick-fil-A and returning to school, or somebody’s had a rough day at work, [and] they look up and they realize that somebody paid the ultimate price — I think there’s value in that in our society.”

You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.