Supporters of the victims of the Jan. 8 shootings are selling two different wristbands to raise money.
Student leaders at Ironwood Ridge High School are selling "Remember 1.8.11" wristbands for $1 each, with all the profit going to a fund for victims and their families organized by KVOA-TV and administered by six local financial institutions.
Two University of Arizona students, independent of their duties as interns at the local office of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, sold turquoise "Peace Love Gabby" wristbands for $1 each at local farmer's markets to raise money for a scholarship fund in memory of Gabe Zimmerman, Giffords' director of community outreach who died in the shooting.
Here is what you need to know about each effort:
"Remember 1.8.11"
Students in Samantha Burgin's student government class started researching the idea of creating wristbands on the Monday after the shooting.
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"They found a site called 24hourwristbands.com, and we ordered 800 as a test," she said. "Soon after we ordered 2,000 more."
"Then it blew up from there," Burgin said. "We ordered 10,000, and the last two orders were for 15,000 each.
The cost of the wristbands, which are white and made in Safford, Texas, depends on how many are ordered. It works out to 19 cents each for an order of 15,000, Burgin said. All profit is donated to the KVOA-organized fund for victims.
"I'm really proud of my students," said Burgin, who is in her ninth year as an Ironwood Ridge teacher. "They have been doing a phenomenal job with this. They want to help and do good things."
The effort has gone national, she added.
"We've sent packages to Hawaii, New Hampshire, Texas, Missouri and Kansas, among other states," she said.
If you'd like to buy one - the mail-order cost is $1.50 each - go to the class website at www.amphi.com/teachers/syoumans/memorialbracelets.html
"Peace Love Gabby"
Tucsonans of all ages, some clutching vegetable-filled canvas bags and others walking their dogs, stopped by a booth at a farmer's market Sunday to buy "Peace Love Gabby" wristbands and make donations.
Danielle Dobrusin and Ryan Pont, both UA sophomores, thought up the fundraising idea the week after the shooting.
The wristbands, which feature a peace sign, a heart symbol and "Gabby," were inspired by a homemade sign placed at the memorial outside Giffords' Tucson office.
The students, who work as interns for the congresswoman, picked turquoise because it's her favorite color, Dobrusin said.
The interns, who ordered and paid for the 5,200 wristbands themselves, said that all proceeds will go to the ASU School of Social Work Scholarship Fund in memory of Zimmerman, who got his master's degree from the Tucson-based program.
The duo sold about 1,000 wristbands on Saturday and another 1,500 or so on Sunday. The interns said they're still trying to nail down specifics on where to sell the rest of the wristbands.
For information, send an e-mail to Dobrusin at ddobrusi@email.arizona.edu
M. Scot Skinner, Marisa Gerber
