DAYTON — The Oregon District Mass Shooting Memorial has been a labor of love built by a mosaic of Dayton area volunteers inspired to give back.
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And in July, you’ll be given another opportunity to help install the artwork.
“In the beginning we set out and we said, you know, come place a piece, leave your grief here, put it into the mosaic,” Jes McMillan, Seed of Life Memorial Team, told News Center 7.
The project is now nearing its end, in advance of the Aug. 4 date that will mark five years since the tragedy.
“This is a culmination of over 5,000 people showing up to put pieces in this mosaic as a means of healing from the tragedy,” McMillan said.
Some of the volunteers working to help the community heal were at work Wednesday, laying pieces of the main mosaic inside the Dayton Metro Library branch downtown, to make sure the pieces fit together correctly.
Architect Terry Welker said the streel rings, as a part of the mosaic, were set last week.
“We called it mosaic Monday,” Welker said. “And then yesterday was turnout Tuesday. Se we had an army of volunteers out here, grouting the tiles.”
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News Center 7 has followed the memorial project for years. In May, we showed you when project crews removed pavers from the space made available for the memorial.
After ensuring the pieces of the mosaic all fit together, they have been moved to their permanent home along East Fifth Street for the memorial. This is the location where, moving forward, the team behind the artwork wants to provide hope.
“I’m confident that anybody particularly victims’ families are going to find a moment of solace and remembrance,” Welker said.
If you want to help build the memorial, an event for volunteers will be held at the Dayton Metro Library’s downtown branch on July 11 where you will be able to help place the final pieces of a different mosaic that will go on a bench in the main memorial space.
The entire memorial will be dedicated Aug. 4, the fifth year since the deadly mass shooting.