In this #HeartwareStory we see how TNT Ace in Wisconsin helped support a mural to help heal their Waukesha community.

Watch more amazing moments of helpful at HeartwareStories.com

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[Music] My phone started going off and started Looking at the footage and I felt a Worry for my friends I felt worry for my Daughter's friends but mostly I felt Anger that someone could actually do This it was pretty overwhelming to know That the people who were just having you Know probably great day in their lives Uh little kids making memories to have It just uh change in an instant and be Something that was just awful and Terrible and it wasn't just the injured It was everyone who witnessed it um they They were they suffered a lot too this Was my backyard and so that anger crept In a little bit but um sadness thinking About the families who are going to have To deal with this not only that day but The lasting effects of it not only the People that were directly affected but Anybody that was there that saw the Events like how are they going to move Forward from this when tragedy occurs in Your community you instinctively want to Help you look for opportunities to help Walk Shaw has many many murals and Adding another mural especially to Recognize and to provide hope in regards To the parade tragedy I thought was a Really good idea artwork is a absolutely Wonderful way to speak to the community And say I support you and I I want you To feel better we're artists and so what

We thought we could do is to make a Mural to show that we're we're not going To be broken because of this we're going To be strong together we're going to Come together we're going to help each Other we're going to improve and move on When I saw the mural project happening I I knew this is where we needed to get Involved we had the supplies we have the Paint we can help bring the artist Vision to life so I reached out to the Artist artist and a week later we met at The store and they they had their whole Plan in place so with the mural we Really thought a lot about it we wanted To make sure it was nonabrasive and Sensitive to what everyone was feeling We gave them everything from paint to Other building materials that they Needed Emily stepped up to make it so That the victims and those affected by The parade had another Avenue of seeing That the community supported them as Well as knowing that there's love and Unity in our community Emily and her Team have given us anything we needed She checked in with me she made sure That if we were running low on something We were covered throughout this process It's been a healing Journey visiting the Artists at the mural and watching them Work people would stop they would Compliment the artists but then they Would talk about their stories where

Were they during the parade what it made Them feel what the mural is making them Feel and it's pretty incredible to hear That this is something that's really Important to our community so what we Have have in it is our big blue circle Which is our big blue light and then Also we have butterflies which are Symbols of rebirth and New Beginnings we Also have six blackeyed Susans and the Blackeyed Susans are native to wakasa we Also have six Cardinals which are Representative of the victims who had Passed we also have sun rays breaking Through the clouds because it's our Sunshine after the Storm this year's Christmas parade is Probably more important than it's ever Been it's going to show how united we Have become how much stronger we are if We were to stop um parades stop doing Events and things like that it would Just be terrible for the community I Think that you would lose your Cohesiveness as a community we need to Show everyone standing side by side with Our community we're going to be better And this is going to be awesome it's Been a year of healing and I am so Amazed at how this community has just Come together for the betterment of of Us all this is our wakaa city parade and This has been going on for years and Years and I'm so happy to see so many

People here and we're all standing Together this project has a significant Beautiful piece for the city of wakasa And I am extremely proud that we got to Be part of it the creation of the Memorial is one way of healing I think The big portion of the healing comes Where people can come by at their own Time and view it and think and respond Hopefully it's a symbol of a brighter Positive future and where we'll just Continue to grow and be tragedies happen A lot but the way Ace and walk show Responded is something that makes me Very proud of our community thank you Emily for making this happen the ace Mantra we exist to help others uh is Something I take to heart we exemplify This by actively supporting our Community providing resources and always Doing our best to make a positive impact It's the core part of our identity and Values [Music]