Jessica Redfield Sports Journalism Scholarship Fund Passes Goal In Less Than 24 Hours

A scholarship fund set up to honor Jessica Ghawi, the aspiring sports journalist who was tragically killed in the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting, reached its goal of $24,000 in less than 24 hours.

KDVR reports that the scholarship fund was set up by Peter Burns, a radio talk show host at Mile High Sports in Denver, as well as Jessica Ghawi’s brother, Jordan. Burns stated of Jessica, who was both a close friend and fellow intern, that:

“Jessica and I were real close, we knew each other back in San Antonio where I did my morning show there and she loved it, she was just amazing.”

He believes that Jessica Ghawi, who also went by Jessica Redfield, had both the talent and drive to be successful in sports journalism. He stated:

“I think that’s what’s real tragic here is that she never got the full opportunity to reach her potential in which ever any of those were. I tell you she lived more in 24 years than most people live in their entire lives.”

In order to honor her memory, Burns and Jordan Ghawi are working to set up the Jessica Redfield Foundation college scholarship, saying that:

“We want to give some young lady an opportunity to attend school and chase the dream. And we started this about 30 hours ago and we’re at $28,233 dollars which is, I mean, I got goose bumps just doing it.”

Yahoo News reports that Jessica Ghawi was the first confirmed death in the Colorado, after surviving another mass shooting in Toronto a month and a half before. She blogged about the Toronto mall experience, noting at the time how precious life is. Jordan Ghawi spoke with CNN on Monday, saying:

“She wanted to be on the media. She wanted to be doing these reports—and she is, just not in the way she would have liked it. So it is … really hard.”

According to The Denver Post, the Jessica Redfield Sports Journalism Scholarship Fund had a goal to raise $20,000 in 120 days, which was reached in less than 24 hours, thanks to huge donations like the one from “Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings and MLS champion Los Angeles Galaxy, through owner Phil Anschutz’s Anschutz Entertainment Group, kicking in a whopping $10,000.”

Thanks to the donations that have come pouring in, the scholarship fund set up to honor Jessica Ghawi will succeed.

Check out more information about Jessica Ghawi (Redfield) below:

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