Foundation established in Riley Howell's honor

From Smoky Mountain News:

It’s barely been a week since Riley Howell’s heroic acts at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, but a group of people who knew him best have already established a charitable foundation that will ensure that his heroism did not end on the day he died. 

“Unfortunately we’ve all had the opportunity to think about people in the family — us — we’re going to need help getting through this,”  said Kevin Westmoreland, the father of Riley Howell’s girlfriend, Lauren. “Grief is one thing when your uncle dies and he’s 94, but traumatic grief is completely different. So we looked at the family’s needs when this happened, and a lot of those things cost money. We want to be able to help other families get the help they need without worrying about, ‘OK where’s the $100 dollars for the hour of counseling going to come from?’ that sort of thing.”

The Riley Howell Foundation is understandably a work in progress, understandable given the circumstances, but its mission is already clear, according to the foundation’s website.

Read the full story here.

photo by Joe Pellegrino of Smoky Mountain News.