Construction for the January 8 Memorial will begin in Spring 2018.
New donors helped push the project forward after the January 8 Memorial Foundation struggled to raise money.
Expects January 8 memorial construction to begin in the spring.
— Jennifer Martinez (@Jennymartineztv) October 9, 2017
A one million dollar grant was matched, organizers announced Monday, October 9.
January 8 memorial has a $1MILLION match grant. - believes it will take them to the final stage.
— Jennifer Martinez (@Jennymartineztv) October 9, 2017
"To be able to announce a million dollar match is really phenomenal because we truly believe that the rest of the community will step up to this match and complete funding for the memorial," says Crystal Kasnoff, January 8 Memorial Foundation Executive Director.
The memorial is to honor the 6 people who were killed after a gunman opened fire at a crowd during former Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords "congress on your corner" event.
"It will continue the healing process that a lot of us are going through," says Jan. 8th survivor, Ron Barber.
The focus is to make sure the January 8 Memorial is what the community of Tucson wants as a whole but the Foundation says they need help to make that happen.
{Model below} January 8 Memorial will be in El Presidio Park. @kgun9 pic.twitter.com/H7kQgj1Yq1
— Jennifer Martinez (@Jennymartineztv) October 9, 2017
"It's important that the survivors as much as possible complete the healing of what they went through on that day and that the families of those who didn't survive can process," says John Castle with Raytheon.
Fundraising for the memorial will end on January 8, 2018 - the 7th anniversary of the shooting.
With the current million dollar grant - the foundation believes it will take them to the construction phase in the Spring.
The entire project is set to take at least 11 months.
Follow News Reporter Jennifer Martinez on Facebook, Twitterand Instagram.
