Elena Barrera recently attended a fundraiser event hosted by Red White Buffalo that brought in money to help her buy a Diabetic Alert Dog. She posted a comment on Facebook to thank RWB and everyone who came. "It was super enjoyable and had a great turnout!" she said.
As soon as the community heard about Elena Barrera's need for a Diabetic Alert Dog, people started getting on board to help any way they could.
The Green River High School student recently shared her plans to get a service dog, which will help her remain independent when she goes to college. Barrera has Type One Diabetes, so the dog will be able to alert her when her blood sugar is out of range, even at night when her cochlear implants are out and she can't hear alarms.
The total cost for the dog itself and its training will be around $30,000, so Barrera asked if anyone would be able to help out - and quickly had her answer.
Just in the past two weeks, multiple local businesses hosted fundraising events that have already raised almost $10,000 for Barrera's dog.
Last Saturday, Buck'N Bar hosted a special Valentine Event fundraiser, including a kissing booth, date auctions, a 50/50 raffle, and drink specials. The evening brought in $4,466 for Barrera.
Stellar Coffee made Tuesday, Feb. 7, a day for raising funds for the dog, donating 10% of their sales and all the tips that came in for the day. This contributed $1,610 to the cause.
Red White Buffalo also hosted a large fundraising event that brought several other local and Wyoming businesses together to help out. On Saturday, Feb. 4, the downtown business had a day full of opportunities for people to try new things and bring in money for Barrera.
"Everybody wants to support their own, but they don't know how and don't know where, so we offered several things to bring people in," Red White Buffalo owner Bonnie Tippy explained.
The day included a silent auction for a handmade flag; wine, beer, and hard cider sampling from Jackson Hole Winery, Lander Beer, and Farmstead Cider from Jackson Hole; permanent jewelry from Seminoe Metal Smithing; Fancy Chancy charcuterie boards; and wings from the Double Dubs food track.
A portion of Red White Buffalo's sales and all tips from the day were also donated to Barrera. Stellar Coffee also donated a portion of their sales and all tips from their new location inside Red White Buffalo from that day as well.
Red White Buffalo also took online donations from those who couldn't make it in person, but a lot of people did make it to the store, and the event had a good turnout, according to Tippy.
Some of the people at the fundraiser included Barrera herself and her parents.
"Whenever you get to see the face of who you're supporting and you get to hear from them directly, it just makes a huge difference," Tippy said, adding that several people at the event donated directly to Barrera as well.
While some numbers are still being calculated and online donations are still coming in, Tippy estimated that the event brought in around $3,500.
"Of course it's important to support your own," Tippy said. "This is a matter of life or death for a lady that that we live with. We share our community with her. And to help her succeed and to help her be independent is a huge advantage for people to support her and to be part of that."
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