University News

UVA Strong Fund to Provide Support in Wake of Tragedy

November 20, 2022 • By Richard Gard, Richard.gard@virginia.edu Richard Gard, Richard.gard@virginia.edu

Signs, banners and notes referencing UVA Strong, such as this one on Beta Bridge, served as the inspiration for the name of the new fund providing support. (Photo by Erin Edgerton, University Communications)

In the traumatic aftermath of the fatal shootings on Grounds earlier this month comes an initiative to help.

The UVA Strong Fund is a University-wide effort administered by the University of Virginia Alumni Association. Inspired by the outpouring of support from UVA alumni, parents and friends, the fund will support victims, survivors, and their families; provide support services for students affected by the tragedy; and honor the lives of those who died on Nov. 13.

UVA football players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry were fatally shot aboard a charter bus returning from a Washington, D.C., field trip. Teammate Mike Hollins continues to recover from his near-fatal injuries. A fifth student victim, Marlee Morgan, was able to leave UVA Hospital within a few days. The entire University community endured a tense 12-hour lockdown during the manhunt for the suspect, student Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., since arrested, jailed and charged with three counts of second-degree murder, among other felonies.

The UVA Strong Fund takes its name from the UVA Strong signs and banners that sprang up around Charlottesville as the reality of the tragedy set in the following day. The fund began receiving donations before week’s end, with contributions streaming in immediately upon its announcement on Thursday. Related initiatives include UVA Strong T-shirts, available through multiple vendors. A portion of the proceeds of the sales, for example, will be directed to the UVA Strong fund.

The UVA Alumni Association, a self-governed 501(c)(3) organization, has expertise in managing philanthropic accounts, including those that support more than 400 students receiving private scholarships.

Ultimately, the swift action reflects the rapid response of a University community unified in its determination to make a difference.

“We have been just overwhelmed by the outpouring of emails, calls, letters, flowers, notes. I mean, you name it, and we have received it, and we’re so grateful,” said Alumni Association President and CEO Lily West. “We are all struggling through what has been an impossible and devastating week, and to have the support of this community has just been incredible.”