<div>From surviving gun violence to fighting for justice, Pedro’s story continues — let’s help him thrive at UCLA.
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<div>On October 4, 2019, our beloved friend, brother, son, and cousin Pedro Ventura was standing outside a gay nightclub in Asheville, NC when a stranger opened fire into the crowd.
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<div>Pedro — a queer immigrant from the Dominican Republic and a rising music executive at CAA — had flown in from Los Angeles for one night to attend a wedding. In a matter of seconds, his life, and the lives of those who love him, changed forever.
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<div>Though there were hundreds of people out, Pedro was the only one hit. A single bullet tore through the back of his neck, severing his spinal cord at the C4 vertebrae and leaving him completely paralyzed from the shoulders down.
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<div>In the aftermath, Pedro faced the unimaginable. As he grieved the future he had envisioned, he was forced to confront an unforgiving system — one that made accessing adequate care, stable housing, and mental health support an everyday battle.
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<div>In those early months, his community showed up with breathtaking generosity. Together, you raised the funds that kept him alive: covering hospital stays, life-saving equipment, rehab, and full-time caregiving. You helped him build an accessible life in Los Angeles — something that should be a right, not a privilege, for people with disabilities.
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<div>Over time, Pedro transformed pain into purpose. As a Survivor Fellow with Everytown for Gun Safety, he’s become a fierce advocate for gun violence prevention, disability justice, and mental health equity. These experiences inspired a new calling — this spring, in recognition of his leadership and vision, Pedro was admitted to UCLA Luskin’s Master of Social Welfare program.
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<div>Post graduation, Pedro is planning a career at the intersection of advocacy, policy research, and direct community engagement, providing clinical support to individuals most impacted by gun violence. The current administration has discontinued the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, increasing the need to fight the firearm violence epidemic at the local and state level.
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<div>Before the shooting, Pedro measured his personal success by his ability to carve out a seat at the table. Today, his vision is bigger: to dismantle the table entirely and reimagine the room—so that every voice, especially the most marginalized, has a place, a platform, and power.
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<div>As Pedro prepares to embark on this next chapter, a major change in his long-term relationship has left him navigating life in Los Angeles on his own for the first time since the injury. The emotional and logistical impact has been profound.
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<div>Pedro will now have to face the cost of remaining in his accessible home, around the clock care, and out-of-pocket medical expenses — all while relying on disability benefits that cover only a fraction of what he needs to live safely and with dignity.
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<div>With the funds from his original fundraiser nearly gone and no stable income until he graduates in 2027, Pedro needs our help once again.
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<div>Your love and solidarity turned tragedy into survival back in 2019. Today, you can help Pedro continue that journey — from surviving to thriving — as he builds a life rooted in purpose, education, and justice.
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<div>Let’s write this next chapter together — one defined by hope, dignity, and freedom.
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Anonymous

Lorena Estrella

Cory Lopez

Chelsea Smith

Aude Cuenod

Hope For Pedro: The Next Chapter

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platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

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Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

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Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

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US + Non-charity COs Only

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fund country is US and user language is English

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Streaming widgets beta user

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3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

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Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

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Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

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Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

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checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

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Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

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Auto Thanks Feature Audience

International Only

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Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

Support Comments Allowlist

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

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Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

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AI Chatbot Audience

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UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

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Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

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Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

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UC Tipping v20250107

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openai

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GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

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Is Recurring Friendly

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NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

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Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

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Survicate

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CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

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PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Hope For Pedro: The Next Chapter

Still $105,767 to go. Help us build momentum.