BUFFALO, N.Y. — Back in May, Zaire Goodman, one of the survivors of the Tops mass shooting, and his mother Zeneta Everhart created an Amazon wish list of books.
Going off that list, generous donors from all over the country donated books to educate children on topics such as racism, diversity, and inclusion.
To say it is successful is probably an incredible understatement.
On Friday, they got a little more help managing all the donations coming in from Everhart's alma mater, Villa Maria College.
"Thousands and thousands. We have almost 10,000 books now," Everhart said.
Everhart calls it crazy in all the good ways. It is a good problem to have, certainly: All those books are a show of support from people all over the country who want to help Buffalo heal from the tragedy of the Tops mass shooting and help make the world, in general, better.
"America claims to be this big melting pot, but it's not reflected in our schoolbooks," Everhart said. "Diversity is not reflected, and it's a shame, and so this is, that's what this book does. This book drive is about.
"And so today, we're moving the books. We are moving the books to its home, to their home at Villa Maria College."
Added Dr. Matthew Giordano, the Villa Maria College president: "We're thrilled to be supporting Everhart and Zaire, and to be the home of all of these books. We're even happier to support this initiative because of what Zeneta just said, about the importance of education."
Everhart says her education at Villa Maria, where she now sits on the board of trustees, saved her life.
Dr. Giordano, or Dr. G, as Everhart calls him, says the books will be stored and sorted in an old classroom that the two of them may have actually once shared as teacher and student.
From there the books will be distributed all over Western New York. The donations keep coming in as Zaire continues to heal.
"Overall, his doctor is very happy. She's very happy with his progress. His wounds are healing beautifully." She said. "He does have shrapnel still inside of him. Most of it will be there for the rest of his life. They will remove some of it because you can feel it in his back. And that that'll happen in weeks to come. And he's in therapy. He goes to therapy once a week. He sees a psychiatrist and she's happy about his progress right now and where he is mentally."
For all they have both endured, Everhart hopes these efforts will help her son and the community see that there is some good.