Father of Parkland shooting victim Meadow leads emotional fundraiser

The father of a Parkland shooting victim led an emotional biker ride fundraiser on Saturday and was joined by other students including David Hogg.

Andrew Pollack, 52, lost his daughter, Meadow, when she was shot dead at Marjory Stoneman High School on Feb. 14 in Parkland, Florida. 

On Saturday, an estimated 650 bikers rode 43 miles through South Florida in a tribute to Meadow. 

There ride, which ended in a Coral Springs neighborhood, was part of a fundraiser to build a playground for kids in the teenager’s honor. 

Andrew Pollack, 52, lost his daughter, Meadow, during the Parkland school shooting on Feb. 14. The father (right) organized a biker fundraiser on Saturday to honor his daughter. Pictured is him at the event on Saturday

Other attendees include David Hogg (left), Matt Deitsch (middle) and Jaclyn Corin (right) who are students at Marjory Stoneman High School. Corin posted the photo on Twitter and said ‘#RideforMeadow’

The 52-year-old father (left) is using the money raised to build a park to honor his daughter (pictured right). He said a tribute fountain will be placed in the park to remember all the victims from the shooting 

‘Meadow was amazing,’ Pollack said to the Sun-Sentinel. ‘There is nothing she couldn’t do or get from me. She was my little girl.’ 

The daughter, who was 18 at the time of the shooting, was shot dead with 16 other people when Nikolas Cruz decided to open fire on the high school.

Her grieving father helped design a park in her honor that would include a water feature to memorialize all the people who died that day. 

His goal is $1million to help build and maintain the park. So far he has raised a little over $150,000. 

Pollack told the Sun-Sentinel that he wants to include other Parkland survivors on the plans for the park. A location has not yet been picked for the memorial. 

Hundreds of people attended the event on Saturday to remember Meadow’s life and raise more money for the memorial.

‘This is nothing political,’ Pollack said to the newspaper about the gathering. ‘We’re all Americans, and we want our kids to be safe.’ 

The father, who was present when Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a new safety bill for schools on March 9, has been vocal about both parties working together to keep schools safe instead of debating gun laws.

An estimated 650 riders drove 43 miles through South Florida to Coral Springs, Florida. Pollack was among them riding on his motorcycle 

Pictured is the plans for the park that Pollack wants to create for the victims of the shooting. The location for the park has not been chosen yet 

Pollack described his daughter as ‘amazing’ and said a piece of him went with his daughter when they had to bury her 

The new bill provided $400million for mental health, school safety programs and even allowed the arming of some school staff. 

Some notable attendees at the fundraiser on Saturday were students David Hogg and Jaclyn Corin.

Hogg especially has been vocal about gun-control laws since the shooting and has targeted the National Rifle Association as the problem. 

He posted a video during the fundraiser of Hunter Pollack, Meadow’s brother, speaking about his sister. 

The students sparked controversy from people in the Republican party after March for Our Lives because students who supported guns were allegedly ‘not allowed’ to speak during the event. 

In the tweet, Hogg said Hunter was unable to speak at the march because a ‘miscommunication’, so he encouraged everyone to watch his speech during the fundraiser.

Pollack thanked the crowd for attending the fundraiser and admitted that a part of him was now buried with his daughter. 

‘Evil went into that school that day and it knocked on my door and took my daughter,’ he said. ‘I’m not about to let that happen again.’  

Pollack said he has so far raised $150,000 for the new park. His goal is $1million to be used to build and maintain the park 

Meadow Pollack, 18, was killed with Nikolas Cruz opened fire at Marjory Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida 

Her father has used his voice to express the need for schools to be safer. He was present when Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill for a $400million budget towards school safety. The bill included an increase in mental health evaluations, safety programs and armed staff

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk