BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Four years after a gunman killed 10 people at the Tops supermarket on Jefferson Avenue, Buffalo is honoring the victims with a citywide day of service.
Buffalo Common Council Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope is proposing to make May 14th an annual day of service for the city of Buffalo.
"I don't feel like it's a holiday. It's a day of service, and that to me is not the same thing as a holiday, because I feel like holidays are like out doing barbecues," Halton Pope said. "This is actually being intentional about serving our communities wherever we are."
On Thursday, volunteers will gather at locations across the east side of Buffalo to pay tribute to the 10 lives lost. One of those victims, Kat Massey, was known for lovingly tending to a small pocket park off of Jefferson Avenue near the store.
Organizers of this year's day of service say the goal is to transform grief into action.
"What we wanted to do is really take this day back and put projects together in honor of those that we lost to make this a day of action and a day of caring. Giving back to our community," said Ekua Mends-Aidoo, president of Clementine Gold Group.
More than a dozen events are planned across the area.
"Going out and renovating people's homes, making sure that they're not getting cited for different issues in front of their homes. We're also doing a lot of cleanups around the area," Mends-Aidoo said.
WATCH: 'Giving back to our community': A day of service planned four years after May 14 massacre
According to Clementine Gold Group managing director Kim LaVare, the concept draws on a model from another American city that has faced tragedy.
"There's a model similarly in Memphis around, the assassination of MLK, where city employees and folks have off that day and it's considered a day of service," LaVare said. "So I think that's actually a really nice way to turn something really terrible into just embracing your community in a different way."
Halton-Pope reflected on what the community showed in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
"Four years ago, we saw something in ourselves, through all of the hate and the pain and the agony. We loved one another," Halton-Pope said.
Organizers say they have more than enough volunteers for Thursday and hope the tradition will only grow in the years to come.
For more ways to participate, go to https://www.clementinegoldgroup.com/5-14.
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