CALUMET CITY, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — DaJore Wilson would have turned 9-years-old today if she hadn't been killed in a shooting on Labor Day as she rode home in her parents' car from the grocery store.
Her mother Tracey Holmes received $300 to buy groceries for her family's first holiday without her daughter.
The money comes from Early Walker, a philanthropist and founder of the group "I'm Telling. Don't Shoot," who has been stocking the kitchens of hurting families at Thanksgiving for the last four years.
Learning that today was DaJore and her twin brother's birthday, Walker released balloons with Holmes outside the Pete's Fresh Market in Calumet City.
Walker paid for groceries for another family who lost a young child this year to a shooting and surprised a family inside the store when a third family couldn't make it to the event.
While business is down at his company, Walker said this year has been tough for so many with COVID, the economy and gun violence that he had to keep up the tradition.
Holmes said she was grateful for the gift, sharing that her healing is a work in progress.
As for the surprised shopper, Walker said she began crying when he told her – saying she had recently been laid off and just had a baby.
DaJore she was shot in the back while riding in an SUV in Canaryville near 47th Street and Union Avenue on the South Side. Walker's group organization is offering $10,000 for anyone with information to come forward.
