Nonprofit apologizes for raising funds meant for Uvalde victim’s family

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Express-News reports that a Baptist retreat operator has issued a public apology for misusing funds meant to benefit a mother whose daughter was killed in the Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde. Jessica Hernandez, whose daughter Alithia Ramirez was among the 19 children and two teachers killed on May 24, 2022, had sued Alto Frio Baptist Encampment, Inc. for money it collected through a GoFundMe fundraising campaign referred to as the “Rebel Give.” Alithia’s name and image were used to promote donations that would go toward Hernandez, but the nonprofit organization used the proceeds to renovate a house on its campgrounds in Leakey, about 40 miles north of Uvalde. For about three weeks before the mass shooting, Hernandez stayed at the house as she worked as a camp housekeeper.

Attorney Javier Espinoza, who represented Hernandez for free, was referred to Hernandez by the San Antonio Legal Services Association, or SALSA. Espinoza filed the case against the non-profit in August 2023. “That money should have gone to her,” he said at the time. The lawsuit was filed seeking compensatory damages, but at the time it was not known how much money was raised. The suit said the name and image of Hernandez’s daughter, Alithia, on the GoFundMe page prompted an outpouring of support from people across the country. Even actor Matthew McConaughey, a native of Uvalde, donated. Discovery and deposition of the camp’s corporate representative since revealed that donations from the GoFundMe to the non-profit were minimal, according to a SALSA statement. Because of the ongoing trauma suffered by Hernandez, and her desire not to relive the events of the slaying in a deposition, all parties agreed to conclude the matter with a publicly filed apology, according to the SALSA statement. Alto Frio Baptist Encampment Inc., its executive director Rusty Brandon and Hernandez’s former supervisor, assistant executive director Kim St. Clair said in the court record, which was filed filed recently, that they apologize for any offense that may have been caused by the GoFundMe.