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Over 1,000 Columbine community members volunteer for day of service 25 years after school shooting

Over 1,000 Columbine community members volunteer for day of service 25 years after school shooting
Over 1,000 Columbine community members volunteer for day of service 25 years after school shooting 02:41

Saturday marks 25 years since the tragedy at Columbine High School.

Members of the Columbine community gathered at a church in Denver to honor the victims Friday night.

On April 20, 1999, two teenagers killed 12 students and a teacher and wounded 24 other people.

At Friday night's vigil, gun safety advocate and former congresswoman Gabby Giffords spoke about preventing gun violence.

"We are living in challenging times," she said. "We're up for the challenge. My own recovery has taken years. Many, many, man people have helped me along the way and I learned so much. I learned if people work together progress is possible, the world is possible."

columbine vigil
Former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was nearly killed in a mass shooting, hugs teacher Kiki Leyba during a vigil to honor all of those impacted by the Columbine High School shooting. The vigil took place at First Baptist Church in Denver on Friday, April 19, 2024. The mass shooting at Columbine High School took place 25 years ago, on April 20th, 1999. At the time, it was the deadliest school shooting in US history. Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Saturday, the community came together for a day of service.

Governor's Ranch Elementary is one school that opened its doors to volunteers to help brighten things up.

These projects are helping to strengthen the community.

"Today is a new day at GRE," 13 students said in unison, some also using American Sign Language to communicate. "Everyone is welcome here."

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CBS

These are words Governer's Ranch Racoons say they live by. And on Saturday morning, they opened their doors to the community for a day of service.

One volunteer who stopped by, 16-year-old Landon Scott, is a current student at Columbine.

She knows about the unimaginable tragedy that happened at her school 25 years ago and says it's had lasting effects.

"Even though we weren't alive to experience it, just with all we hear about it and how much it still affects us as students who go to the school, I think it's important to do all we can to help."

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Landon Scott CBS

And Scott wasn't alone in lending a helpful hand; Over 1,000 Columbine students, teachers, families and community members scattered across Jefferson County for the eighth annual Columbine Day of Service.

"We're taping things off and painting some walls that haven't been touched in 35 years in this school," said GRE principal Ryan Lucas.

A fresh paint job is just one of the many community service projects throughout the county.

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A student helps repaint the walls at Governor's Ranch Elementary school for the Columbine day of service on April 20, 2024. CBS

Lucas says it's these efforts that continue to strengthen a once frail community.

"Really good things happen when a lot of people come together to do good things together," Lucas said. "It's all about that community being together working together and it's all about having fun."

"It's such a great community and I feel like things like this help bring us together," Scott said.

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