4 days ago
Texas flooding: Vero Beach Riverside Theatre kids show support in Camp Mystic deaths
Kids lay on the floor of Riverside Theatre with colored pencils and markers in hand, writing cards filled with love and support for the Preston Center Dance, which is grieving the loss of six students who died in a July 4 flood in Texas.
The Camp Mystic victims were members of the dance troupe in Dallas, Texas, which some Vero Beach students have encountered at the annual Junior Theater Festival. The event is a celebration of musical theater where participants perform Broadway Junior shows for each other and trade friendship bracelets as an icebreaker.
The Riverside kids want their Preston Center Dance counterparts to know they're not alone and their loss is felt across the theater community. The bond between theater groups who share a passion for performing is strong, said Kevin Quillinan, Riverside Theatre's director of education, who suggested the kids send cards and bracelets.
"We're devastated and moved for them,' he said, reluctantly agreeing to talk to TCPalm, as he didn't seek publicity for the initiative. 'The amount of grief they're dealing with through all the loss is unimaginable, so we just wanted to send as much love and support as we can from a distance.'
Ellie Palm, Kaitlin Simmons, Giselle Fernandez and Timothy Cicco, all 18, have attended the Junior Theater Festival and mentored Riverside students who are about the same age as the Camp Mystic victims.
"It's heartbreaking to hear, as the older crowd, that we've lost so many bright performers and spirits," Simmons said. "The cards help us show that we support and feel the loss with them. ... Theater is such a community hobby, so even though we didn't know them personally, we still have that connection through loving to perform."
Fernandez added: "At a time like this, there is really no other way to help than just letting them know that we're thinking about them."
Valeria Bartra is TCPalm's summer intern. Contact her at
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Texas flooding: Vero Beach kids send cards about Camp Mystic victims
