Memorial for victims of Uber shootings, bike crash planned in Kalamazoo

By Madison Bennett | MLive

KALAMAZOO, MI - A memorial in honor of victims and survivors of the mass shooting and bicycle crash tragedies is planned in Kalamazoo.

The ForeverStrong Memorial Foundation was revealed by Laurie Smith at a candlelight vigil held on the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting, which took the lives of her son, husband and four other people on Feb. 20, 2016.

The foundation is a non-profit organization created to strengthen the communities affected while honoring the victims and survivors of both tragedies.

The memorial is a multi-year project and will consist of several unique sections including an indoor soccer/multipurpose facility, outdoor soccer fields, large remembrance panels dedicated to victims and survivors, a memorial pavilion and more. Concepts and designs were shown at Monday night's vigil.

The memorial could take up a minimum of 28 acres of land and a maximum of 32, according to architect David VanderKlok. He said they have a location in mind along a "major thoroughfare" in Kalamazoo but did not reveal a specific location.

"I can't think of a better way to carry on the legacies of those people that we lost and those that are critically injured forever and ever," said Smith, whose son Tyler, one of those killed in the shootings, was an avid soccer player. "It's (the memorial) a good way for us to have hope and dive into something that's going to make a difference."

VanderKlok worked with Smith, fellow family members of victims and survivors to create the memorial design.

"Some want to engage about this and help a lot. Some are really struggling, really struggling," VanderKlok said of working with those affected.

In addition to those killed in the shooting rampage, the memorial will honor five bicyclists who were killed and four injured when a pickup truck struck a group of cyclists north of Kalamazoo on June 7, 2016. 

Neither Smith nor VanderKlok have disclosed a cost for the project, but Smith said they are just beginning to work with Hopkins Fundraising Consulting in Grand Rapids.

Their first effort will be to conduct a feasibility study and once that is completed, they will start speaking to foundations and corporations in the area in search of financial support.

The final step, pending how much Smith and others with the foundation are able to raise, will be to launch a public fundraising campaign.

"We'd love to have it tomorrow but in all reality, this an enormous undertaking, moreso than I think anybody could have imagined," VanderKlok said.

"Life's too short to spend time on things that you're not passionate about and when we all leave this earth it's about who we've impacted and whose lives we touched, not about what we had," Smith said. "And I believe that the memorial that we've come up with will impact a lot more lives and will touch a lot more people than if we put up a smaller one."

To view the entire plan for the memorial, find more information or to donate, visit foreverstrongfoundation.org. 

This post originally appeared Feb. 21, 2017 on MLive.com.