A softball competition generates more than $20,000 to support victims of the tragic shooting in Arkansas

Fordyce, Arkansas – The first Fordyce Strong annual benefit softball tournament was hosted on Saturday by the Fordyce community in an effort to raise money for the victims and survivors of the Mad Butcher grocery store mass shooting that occurred last month.

Tournament directors like Cassidy Kelly made the decision to put an emphasis on the good things in life by holding softball games to make the residents of Fordyce happy as the one-month anniversary of the tragedy draws near.

“The softball community has always been a community that has stuck together and supported one another,” Kelly said. “Whether it was something good [or] something bad… it was a no-brainer to go ahead and throw a tournament because we know the amount of support we’d get.”

For Kelly, the Fordyce community is all about fresh starts as they reminisce about good times, laughs, and—above all—a meaningfully competitive game of softball.

“It is to raise money for the victims’ families and the survivors to cover their medical expenses [and] gas going back and forth to the doctor,” Kelly said. “100% of any money on this field today will go to those families.”

At the competition, Fordyce Mayor John MacNichol gave a speech.

“We’ve gotten past the part of the shooting,” MacNichol said. “We’re trying to focus more on the healing process.”

The Fordyce community was not the only participant in Saturday’s tournament.

Like DeCarlow Collins of Bearden, who stated it was also an opportunity to meet with strangers of all different ethics and backgrounds who were playing something they had in common, neighboring counties banded together to express support.

“That’s the big thing: you need something like this to bring a community together,” Collins said. “Whether it’s a softball tournament or a concert or just any type of event that talks about the community and putting love around the people and the victims involved. We want to be able to make sure that we show them love beyond just that one day.”

Kelly stated that they have already raised more than $20,000 and that if people keep donating and playing throughout the evening, they hope to raise much more.

“Our goal is to show the community you don’t have to live in fear… show that we can come out, we can support each other, we can have fun,” Kelly said. “Show support to those who are lost; some were friends, some were strangers, but this way, you can show it to everybody.”