CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Saturday, several area businesses will come together to raise money for the family of the two infant girls killed over the weekend in a car accident near Orange Grove.
The fundraiser event will be for plates of food, purchasable for $10. The event will be held at noon March 13 in the parking lot in front of So Blendy Barbershop and Iron Compound Gym, at 4701 Ayers St. in Corpus Christi. The event is hosted by So Blendy, Iron Compound, and Los Magueyes Restaurant in Orange Grove.
Daniel Perales, the co-owner of Iron Compound, is friends with the father of the two girls. He said the father reached out to him for help with the event, and he was more than happy to do so.
“I was like, ‘Sure, we’d be more than glad to help.’ As a father and as a friend, I am more than glad to, it’s the least we can do. We’re trying to get this thing going, show that we’re here, we care, try to do our part, asking the rest of the community to reach out and help out as well," Perales said. "Try to send these babies off in the best way possible.”
Perales reached out to Jacob Espy, the manager at So Blendy, to see if he could help with the fundraiser as well. Espy said he has a good following on social media, so he was happy to get the word out about the event.
“This ain’t the first time I’ve helped out families in need," he said. "I don’t do it for the attention or anything like that. I really do it because I know how hard these situations can be, and if I do have the ability to help out people, whether it’s bringing 100 people out, 200 people out, or ten people out, it’s going to help, it’s going to add to the cause. If I can do that, then that’s what I’m here for."
Perales also said he was happy to use his platform as a business owner to help out his good friend.
“It’s really important to us to really do that, to be a part of it, just to let others know. There’s a lot of good people out there who do really care. That’s the whole main purpose of it, letting the family know that they’re not alone, we’re here,” he said.
Both Perales and Espy are fathers themselves. They said they couldn’t imagine the heartbreak of losing their kids, and wanted to do whatever they could to help out the family at this time.
“As a father, I’m here. I couldn’t even imagine to go through what he’s going through, but just letting him know you’re not alone brother, we’re here for you,” Perales said.
“I’m a girl-dad myself, I’ve got five daughters, so this really, really made me sad. When the people at Iron Compound reached out to me, I was all in,” Espy said.
The plates sold at the fundraiser will consists of a chicken leg, sausage, rice, beans, a drink, and a brownie. The event will continue until supplies last.
