KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Corey's Network, a Kansas City-area organization that helps cover a portion of funeral expenses for grieving families who've lost loved ones to homicide, received a generous donation on Tuesday.
The Highland Park Funeral Home won $10,000 via a raffle and decided to donate the money to Corey's Network.
"It was definitely a moment of disbelief," Michelle Metje Norris, the co-founder of Corey's Network said. "I think the first words out of my mouth were, 'Oh, I love you.'"
Metje-Norris helped start the organization after her son, Corey, was murdered at the age of 22.
"I went through the same emotions as any of these parents," Metje-Norris said.
When Corey died, Metje-Norris had to find other means to pay for his funeral, so she can relate to the struggles of covering funeral expenses.
"I had to go through asking family members and friends," she said.
The donation will help out 40 families. Corey's Network also provides advocacy services and free counseling.
The services that Corey's Network provides are especially important as Kansas City, Missouri, continues to deal with a deadly stretch of violence.
