CHARDON, Ohio — Dina Parmertor says when she and her family started the Danny Parmertor Memorial Scholarship Fund, they had no idea how big it would become.
"I feel he's happy for this. And you know it's one thing we can do to make him live on and to honor him," Dina said.
And the Parmertors had no idea how many students they would be able to help. In less than a decade, the fund has raised $220,000 and helped 44 students.
"It was pretty awesome," said Ken Gallion, a 2015 scholarship recipient. Today, Gallion's an IT support engineer at Amazon.
"Getting this scholarship really bolstered me and told me this is the path I need to be on," he added.
Nicholas Kogovsek is a 2016 recipient. He's now a software engineer at Centric Consulting.
"It meant a lot cause it helped me get through college and it also helped remember the memory of Danny," said Kogovsek.
"We always say when we interview them, "you are going to be part of our family now. We want to hear from you and know how you are doing." And they seem so thankful too," said Dina.
The family has had to skip its annual fundraiser event for the past two years because of COVID. This year, however, it's on and in person- giving the next generation of scholarship recipients the chance to grow and be thankful as well.
"I never had the chance to meet Danny and obviously he never got to attend college. But I feel like through this foundation he's been able to attend many times over through the dozens of people who have been able to pursue their passions and follow their careers. So being a part of that is something pretty special," said Gallion.
"I want to thank everybody again for remembering and for supporting- not letting his name go. That's a big thing too. So, we would always hear, the three victims, the three boys, the three students. You have to say their names: Danny, Russell, Demetrius. Saying their names is important," Dina says.
The 10th Annual Danny Parmertor Memorial Fund Raffle will be held at LaMalfa Party Center in Mentor on Friday, March 25.
You can learn more about the Danny Parmertor Scholarship fund and upcoming fundraiser HERE.
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