Mother of teen slain outside Roxborough High School honors his memory through fundraising efforts
Meredith Elizalde has been able to raise $50,000 for a new scoreboard and new equipment for the Roxborough Wolves.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Next week marks one year since 14-year-old Nicolas Elizalde was gunned down outside a Roxborough High School football scrimmage in Philadelphia.
He was the unintended target, police say. As we approach the tragic anniversary on September 27, his mother is on a mission to keep Nick's legacy alive.
"On the one hand it feels like it just happened yesterday, on the other, it feels like he is slipping farther away," says Meredith Elizalde.
Meredith is mourning her son, Nicolas, who was murdered nearly one year ago after a shooting broke out at Roxborough High School. Four other teens were injured.
She has lost her only child and at times it feels as though her whole world has changed.
READ | Community honors teen killed in shooting outside Roxborough High School
"If I'm having a really hard moment, I'll get a sign whether it be a feather, a sea turtle, a song," she says.
Now, Meredith is on a mission to finish the work that Nicholas left behind in this world and help the team he was proud to be a part of.
"Once you lose your only child, your maternal instinct remains, so channeling my energy into the team and other projects helps me to focus," she says. "It's really important to me that his teammates know that they are worthy, they are not forgotten, that they didn't deserve what happened to them. And that there is kindness in the world still."
Meredith has been able to raise $50,000 for a new scoreboard and new equipment for the Roxborough Wolves.
"They went through something horrific, something that students should not have to go through, that no one should have to go through, and on top of it all they are in subpar conditions that can very easily be rectified," she said.
When Nick joined the team last year, he received what they had: broken pads.
"When Nick joined the team last year, his equipment was actually broken, so I had to supply his football pads," she said. "That should not be a barrier and we're offering the sport at a public school, they should be included."
Justice for her son is in the works. Five of the people allegedly involved were captured soon after. Still, a $50,000 reward for alleged shooter Dayron Burney-Thorn remains.
"He is being aided by someone who is prioritizing a school shooter's freedom over the life of my son and the victims of the shooting," said Meredith.
Meredith says they're about halfway to their goal of fixing the scoreboard and buying new equipment for her son's team, who she recognizes, suffered a great loss last year as well.
In addition to her work with the Roxborough team, she has dedicated her time to one of Nick's passions, which is natural conservation.
He had an interest in sea turtles. It was the subject of one of his school projects and a topic of one of their last conversations together.
"There are 67 new loggerhead hatchlings in the ocean who hatched during Hurricane Idalia in Nick's name," said Meredith.
To donate to the fund for a new scoreboard, football pads, and jerseys for the Roxborough High School football team, click here: Fundraiser by John LaRue: Roxborough HS scoreboard needed in memory of Nick.
