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A few miles away from various memorial sites and events on Virginia Tech's campus, the town of Blacksburg will also be involved in commemorating the lives of those lost last April 16.
Some businesses will be directly involved by donating a portion of proceeds earned that day to memorial funds, providing free or reduced-priced offers, or setting up makeshift memorials. Others have yet to decide what route they will take, and a few will change nothing in the hopes of instilling a sense of normalcy in the community.
Although the town is not holding any official events, Blacksburg Mayor Ron Rordam said he encourages all town residents to do what they feel will be helpful on Wednesday.
"We made a conscious decision that it should be a Tech and student-driven day," Rordam said.
On the night before the 16, the Center for Community Healing After Tragedy (CHAT), Tech's SGA, and Hooptie Ride's Designated Driving Service are providing free transportation around the town from Hooptie Ride.
Patrick Halpern, executive director of the Mental Health Association of the New River Valley, one of the organizations involved in CHAT, said the partnership raised close to $1,200 to provide this service. After then contacting Hooptie Ride's founder David Robinson, he agreed to provide the rest of the funds needed to cover the expense. Usually, the ride is $8 minimum per destination.
"On the eve of such an important day in our community, we wanted to try to make sure that everyone would make it home safely," Halpern said.
On Wednesday, some businesses in Blacksburg will provide products specialized for the day of commemoration.
Eugenie Ranck, owner of Chocolate Spike, will be making chocolate clay ribbons for customers to purchase. Some of the proceeds from these orange and maroon snacks, which can also be air-dried to be preserved, will go toward the April 16 memorial fund.
The flower shop My Fair Lady will have bouquets of orange and maroon flowers to purchase for a minimum of $10. Employees at Mad Dog will be serving free cookies and lemonade.
"It was a hard thing to handle, so we just decided to do this in remembrance," sales associate Tonia Tabrick said.
Tech Bookstore will be holding a moment of silence at noon, according to manager Jerry Diffell. Workers at Bogen's Steakhouse set up a floral memorial in the restaurant.
Other businesses are undecided on their Wednesday activities because of the difficult nature of the anniversary or just a desire to not think about the day.
Luanda Deoliveira, the daughter of the owner of Lia's Hair Styling, said the salon might offer a special or discounts on hair products.
Margaret Breslau, owner of Homebody, said she was considering closing the store because she was thinking of participating in the lie-in in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.
"I just think that it's going to be a pretty intense time, and I think people have to be mindful of how everyone's feeling," Breslau said. "Certainly it's not business as usual."
Hokie House Restaurant may be donating 10 percent of its sales on Wednesday to a fund or charity.
Lana Juarez, owner of the Matrix Gallery, said she consciously decided not to do anything differently on the 16.
"I'm just going to do the same old, same old and just try to get back to normal," Jaurez said.
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