CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Funeral arrangements are set to begin this week for the 22 victims of the tragic Uvalde shooting.
While nothing can take away the hurt of the families or their community, one Coastal Bend florist shop took it upon themselves to deliver custom flower sprays for their caskets.
For Sinton natives Adrian Alaniz and Aaron Franco, there may never be the right words to describe what they felt following the devastating news of the school shooting; but there was a call to help, something they knew they could answer.
"I contacted my mom, I said we need to something this has hit extremely close to home," Alaniz said.
Adrian who owns Petal Express in Cuero, partnered with his mother's flower shop out of Sinton to make custom casket sprays for each victim, and then delivered them to Uvalde ahead of the funerals.
"With the help of friends family and the community we were able to make all 21 casket sprays and then an additional one for the teachers husband who had a heart attack after," Franco said.
Alaniz said each arrangement was designed to tell a story and reflects their personality in some way.
"We had the opportunity to attend two services and pay our respects in person and that meant a lot to us that the families allowed us," Alaniz said.
While not personally knowing the victims, their hearts are heavy for the community of Uvalde.
"This is not just a Uvalde issue, this is everybody. We are all feeling the same grief they are, and we are all in this together with them," Franco said.
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