People affected by the Aug. 4, 2019 mass shooting in the Oregon District are now able to apply for funds through the foundation’s Dayton Oregon District Tragedy Fund.
Anyone physically injured in the shooting and the families or representatives of the nine people who lost their lives are eligible to apply.
Fund officials tell WYSO the family of the Oregon District shooter is not planning to apply to the fund. The 24-year-old gunman's sibling was among the nine people killed in the Aug. 4 massacre.
More than $3.1 million has so far been collected for the fund through public and private donations, and will be dispersed this year, says Brother Raymond L. Fitz, Professor Emeritus and former President of the University of Dayton.
He is a co-chair and one of 15 volunteers serving on the fund's oversight committee.
“There were two issues that we were trying to balance,” he says. “The first issue was how do we get this gift, which is basically a gift from the community, to the people who suffered in this tragedy, how do we get it to them in an expeditious way, and then balancing that with concept of fairness as we know what was the best way to allocate it.”
Fitz says the committee sought help with those questions from other communities that experienced a similar tragedy.
A statement from Fitz and fellow committee co-chair Dr. Gary LeRoy reads:
"As co-chairs of the volunteer Oversight Committee and fellow members of this community, we want to express our deepest condolences, compassion and prayers to the families whose loved ones were taken and to the individuals who were injured in this terrible tragedy. As the committee charged with overseeing disbursements of the Dayton Oregon District Tragedy Fund, LLC we strove to develop a plan that is in the best interests of these individuals while upholding the intent of the thousands of charitable individuals who have generously made donations for the benefit of others."
More than 4,400 donors contributed to the fund since it was set up not long after the shooting. The oversight committee has set aside 70 percent of the contributions for the families of the deceased. Disbursements for injuries would vary according to the nature of the injuries received and the amount of care provided following the shooting./p>
Applications can be submitted through the Dayton Foundation’s website or through email at tragedyfund@daytonfoundation.org, and must be filed by Thursday, Oct. 31, 2019, at 6 p.m.
The tragedy fund committee says they are working with the county prosecutor's office to determin elegibility for the funds, which could be dispersed around mid-November.
