Support for Allen
Response to the Tragic Shooting in Allen, Texas
On Saturday, May 6th, 2023, eight people were tragically killed and another seven were wounded while shopping at the Allen Premium Outlets in Allen, Texas. Victims range in age from 61 to as young as 3. Many of the injured remain hospitalized at local trauma facilities, with several in critical condition.
In the coming days and weeks, families of victims and those impacted will require support for medical and funeral expenses, as well as grief and trauma counseling.
Support for Allen Fund at CFT
CFT has established the
Support for Allen Fund to collect funds that provide support for those who have been impacted by this senseless tragedy.
Gifts to CFT’s Support for Allen Fund will be directed to local nonprofit agencies that are providing much needed resources and services in response to this tragedy. This includes agencies providing mental health, grief, and trauma support for the victims and their families, as well as first responders who may also have been impacted by this event. Note:
this fund will not provide direct payments to individuals.
Donate online via credit card below.
Scroll further below for additional ways to support those impacted.
Donate through CFT's newly created Support for Allen Fund to help nonprofits assisting those affected by the tragedy.
Make a donation:
If you would prefer to send a check, checks can be sent to Communities Foundation of Texas, 5500 Caruth Haven Lane, Dallas, TX 75225 with "Support for Allen Fund" in the memo line.
Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT) is committed to transparency. In addition to the required credit card/online transaction fee that givers can opt to additionally cover when making their gift, there is a 1% administrative fee to help offset the cost of fund management and grantmaking.
CFT fund holders: Log in here to make a donation from your CFT fund.
CFT fund holders: Log in here to make a CFT Fund Transfer to the support for Allen Fund
Additional Ways to Support
We've compiled a list of resources for those in need of support or looking for ways to provide support in response to the tragic shooting in Allen, Texas. Visit our resources page to find information on:
- Mental Health/Trauma Resources
- Support for Family and Children Resources
- Prevention Resources
- Ways to Donate
- Additional Ways to Help
Visit our Resource Page
Victim Services Help Line
The City of Allen has opened a Help Line to assist our community during this difficult time. It is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and can be reached by calling 214.509.4444. Translation services are available for those who do not speak English. The Help Line is a way to refer victims to the appropriate services, whether it is counseling services or financial assistance. You can also email helpline@cityofallen.org if you do not want to call.
Additional Ways to Give
VictimsFirst (a nonprofit comprised of families and survivors from 20+ years of past mass casualty crimes) has started a verified Allen, Tx Shooting Victim's Fund on GoFundMe that will give 100% of what it collects directly to victims. VictimsFirst is a 501c3 nonprofit and all donations are tax-deductible. EIN number: 32-0656956.
Credit Union of Texas Charitable Foundation Fund – The Credit Union of Texas Charitable Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and all donations are tax-deductible EIN number: 87-115287. 100% of your donations will be given directly to support the victims and their families. The CUTX Charitable Foundation will not receive any portion of these funds for administrative costs and will also cover credit card fees to ensure your entire donation goes to those in need. In support, The Credit Union of Texas has committed to donating $250,000.
GoFundMe.com has created a listing of verified GoFundMe pages offering direct support to victims and their families. Note: contributions to GoFundMe pages for individuals are not tax-deductible and cannot be made from a donor-advised fund.
Mental Health Support:
For those living in Collin County, LifePath Systems’ Crisis Hotline (877-422-5939) is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Trained behavioral health professionals are standing by to assist, and this service is available to all adults and children living in Collin County, regardless of insurance or income status. To donate in support of LifePath Systems services and programs, please click here.
Blood Donations:
One of the best ways to help victims in any tragedy is to donate much needed blood and plasma. O-negative, the universal blood type, is the most-used blood type in emergencies by first responders, although all blood types are needed and will be sent to all area hospitals aiding victims. Set up an appointment at a local Carter Blood Care Center or Red Cross Donation Center, or donate to either financially.
Support for Families and Children
National Child Traumatic Stress Network – Incidents like this tragedy in Allen can impact children and youth, even by seeing or hearing about it on TV, social media, or from peers. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network provides parents and caregivers with resources available in English and Spanish to help children and teenagers recover from traumatic events. The more caregivers learn about how traumatic events affect their children (whether toddler, school-age, teen, youth, or adult), the more they understand the reasons for their children’s behaviors and emotions, and the better prepared they are to help them cope and recover.
Prevention Resources
In addition to local resources to support victims impacted by this tragedy, community members may also be searching for ways to understand how to get involved and help prevent future tragedies. The following are national and state organizations that are focused on understanding the causes behind gun violence, as well developing non-partisan, evidence-based policies and practices to advance public safety, reducing incidents of gun violence across all communities.
The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute (MMHPI) – MMHPI provides independent, nonpartisan, data-driven, and trusted policy and program guidance that creates equitable systemic changes so all Texans can obtain effective, efficient behavioral health care when and where they need it. The Meadows Institute grew out of The Meadows Foundation’s unyielding concern for the people of Texas. In 2014, The Meadows Foundation established the Meadows Institute as an independent nonprofit organization. With offices in Austin, Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio, and projects in every region of the state, the Meadows Institute has become Texas’s most trusted source for results-oriented information and analysis of effective and efficient mental health policy and programs. The Meadows Institute works at the state, regional, and local levels to help mental health systems improve, share best practices, develop resources, and increase public awareness on the most effective ways to treat mental illness and help people recover. Since its founding, the Meadows Institute has worked with funders and partners to bring profound, much-needed change to Texas. From revolutionary new smart justice programs in North Texas, to in-depth assessments and plans to improve care for children in Texas communities, to working with schools to elevate the ways they can work with parents to support students, the Meadows Institute has helped shape policy and practice from the state level down to the smallest towns and communities.
Child Poverty Action Lab (CPAL) – CPAL launched in 2018 out of the Dallas Mayor's Office to tackle child poverty as Dallas' North Star. CPAL's services as a "think and do tank" center on open-source data tools democratizing data to improve service coordination, strategic project design and management to surface and scale effective practices, and system and neighborhood capacity-building. Adapted to context and ongoing learning, CPAL's services help make programs across Dallas County more data-driven and connected in advancing the regional child poverty North Star. CPAL orients its services around six evidence-based Big Bets: Benefits Delivery; Maternal Health & Family Planning; Birth-3 Care; Affordable Housing; Criminal Justice and Incarceration; and Trauma Prevention and Public Safety domains. An additional cross-cutting focus on place-based neighborhood investment reinforces CPAL's emphases on brokering productive project relationships and on strengthening enabling conditions for economic mobility in place.
Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions – The Center conducts rigorous research and uses advocacy to implement evidence-based, equitable policies and programs aimed at preventing gun violence in our communities.
Everytown for Gun Safety – Everytown for Gun Safety seeks to improve our understanding of the causes of gun violence and help to reduce it by conducting groundbreaking original research, developing evidence-based policies, communicating this knowledge to the American public, and advancing gun safety and gun violence prevention in communities and courts. They focus on reform in four main areas: background checks, domestic violence, preventable deaths, and gun trafficking. Additionally, Moms Demand Action, a grassroot, volunteer-led movement that advocates for public safety measures to reduce the effect of gun violence, is associated with Everytown.
Gifford’s Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence – Gifford’s mission is to educate the public about the state of gun violence and propose solutions that increase the safety of communities by encouraging personal responsibility and common-sense policies. This is an organization founded and led by former U.S. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords after she was shot at a constituent event where six people were killed and 12 were injured.
Texas Gun Sense – Texas Gun Sense is a statewide nonprofit and nonpartisan organization advocating for common sense, evidence-based policies to reduce gun injuries and deaths.