KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Following Wednesday's mass shooting at Union Station, local calls for gun reform have reignited. Cereal for Breakfast is one group asking for change.
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The group organized an event Saturday at Rochester Roasting and Brewing in the Crossroads. Cereal for Breakfast organizers Noel Fallon and Libby Roepe said immediacy is crucial following gun violence.
People had to donate $50 to attend. That money went to Lives on the Line, a nonprofit Cereal for Breakfast aligns with. Lives on the Line advocates for gun reform in both Kansas and Missouri.
“I could not believe we were having this happen in our own town, and then I thought, maybe I should believe it," said Annie Noll with Lives on the Line.
Cereal for Breakfast calls itself a grassroots organization and mobilizes to raise money for other nonprofits that work for gun reform on a larger scale. On top of that, people are encouraged to write and call their congresspeople to ask for change at events.
“We’ve had a lot of big talks in our house after Wednesday’s event, and so we just wanted to see how we could come out and write to our legislators and congressmen, so we knew this was a great opportunity to come out and take our emotions and turn them into action," said Patti Greenbaum, who brought her daughter to Saturday's response event.
Other people can host their own Cereal for Breakfast gatherings. The group has the tools and resources on its website.
Fallon did not think this would be happening in their backyard this soon.
"It's heartbreaking, like, I'm proud of what Libby and I and the other women have worked on and have built and are trying to continue to build, but at the same time, it's heartbreaking to know that like, oh, now, now I'm doing it," said Fallon.
Organizer Roepe was at Wednesday's parade. She said she hid in her car until the all-clear was given at Union Station. She said she wondered at that time if Cereal for Breakfast was enough.
“My grieving and my process of the event is taking place into throwing myself into Cereal for Breakfast," said Roepe. "These kids are living with this every day at school through drills, through awareness that they knew to be scared and we’ve gotta do better for them."
Cereal for Breakfast raised more than $6,000 for Lives on the Line during Saturday's event.
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