AUSTIN, Texas — On Sunday, the Lost Pines Art Center hosted "Central Texas Cares," a benefit for Uvalde.
There was live music and a silent auction, all in hopes of collecting money to donate to the Robb School Memorial Fund.
Jeff Stayton is one artist who was working on a live painting during the event. After visiting Uvalde last week and seeing the teddy bears, crosses and cards that surrounded the school, he was touched.
"At some point, I would see a periodic statement saying, 'If you see a cardinal, it's a messenger from heaven,'" he said.
So, he decided to channel that grief in a unique way. At Sunday's event, he painted 21 cardinals to represent the lives lost at Robb Elementary School on May 24.
"Whatever I'm painting is going to probably be more, like, cathartic," Stayton said. "And it's like, for children, it would be painting the monster."
The money raised from the painting will be donated to the Robb School Memorial Fund. Money raised from the tickets and other paintings sold will also be donated.
Patricia Rendulic, one of the organizers of the event, said they'll ensure the money gets distributed to those who need it the most.
"They'll be taking care of families' mental health, which is very important," she said.
One of the community's biggest concerns is getting trained mental health professionals to help families heal. As more information comes to light, counselor Taish Malone said survivor's guilt will set in.
"They will have sadness," she said. "They will have anger. There will be some anger with that fear. And panic attacks are very common."
They will need all the help they can get because overcoming this won't be easy.
"Sometimes, the emotions flood you so much, you really don't know how to process them," Malone said.
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