In May of 2018, Indiana residents were saddened to hear of yet another school shooting, and this time, it was in our own backyard. Hoosier hearts were heavy to learn that a 13-year-old student named Ella Whistler of Noblesville Middle School West had been shot seven times by a fellow classmate, while her heroic teacher, Jason Seaman, suffered several gunshot wounds in his efforts to protect his students. Both Ella and Jason survived, with Jason released from the hospital within 24 hours.
In early June, Ella became everyone’s child as we asked our WFMS community to show support for her growing medical bills by hosting a lemonade stand and donating the proceeds to Ella’s Go Fund Me page. The response? AMAZING! We were absolutely brought to tears by the generosity of thoughtful Hoosiers, from young children to grandparents and businesses, who stepped up to show Ella and her family that she isn’t alone in her recovery.
We were grateful to be a small part of such a rewarding initiative.
Ella’s injuries required a long hospitalization and countless hours of hard work in therapy, though she is amazingly preparing to return to school with the rest of her classmates in early August. Such a fighter!
Before she returns to school, Ella joined us in-studio on July 18th, as our special guest radio personality! (We think Jim, Deb, Kevin & Ella has a nice ring to it!)
Indiana Pacer Victor Oladipo with a message for Ella
