Gabby Petito’s family is honoring her memory by creating a foundation to find missing people and support organizations that help victims of domestic violence.
“We want to turn our personal tragedy into a positive one,” says the Gabby Petito Foundation website. “We hope that Gabby’s Foundation will bring these important issues to the fore for the benefit of all of our communities.”
Gabby’s missing person case and subsequent murder investigation first went viral on TikTok, and her younger brother TJ Schmidt created an account to reach out to the thousands of people who care and seek justice for his sister’s life.
Gabby’s mother, Nicole Schmidt, spoke to local Tampa news channel WFLA about her charity.
“We are still grieving and it will be a long process,” she said. “I think starting the foundation is a way to grieve and see this through. Some mornings I wake up wanting to save the world and I know I can’t, but I’ll die trying. And that’s Gabby’s legacy. “
Your personal goal is to prevent Gabby’s situation from happening to anyone else. Nicole noted that there are currently only Amber Alerts for missing children and Silver Alerts for “Seniors at Risk”. So what happens to adults? Nicole is hoping for a nationwide warning system for people between 18 and 64 years of age.
“What about these people who are in between?” asked Schmidt. “If a family member knows they are missing, there needs to be some kind of warning system so that people search immediately.”
The foundation has already established two college scholarships to benefit students from two high schools in Gabby’s hometown. The website also offers numerous resources on domestic violence and sells bracelets for the benefit of the foundation.
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