Matz explains on a gofundme page she created to garner support for the project, "I noticed that there are several benches in town for adults who have passed away but nothing for all of the children. Since I've been in middle school 2 students in my school passed away. One of them was my friend, Justin Cowen. In the past few years our small town has had many children die and I want to honor them."
Matz has raised $2,960 of her $5,000 goal on gofundme for a memorial “Angel Swing” in Ballard Park. Matz has raised this money from 41 donors in 5 days, which is an amazing feat in itself!
The memorial will be a swing that Matz refers to as the “Angel Swing”. It commemorates the Ridgefield children who have passed away. She mentions "just some" of the children who will be remembered in her YouTube video including, Ava Springer, Justin Cowen, Ryan Meegan, and Olivia Grace Queenan.
Matz is a recent Ridgefield resident; she moved to Ridgefield from New Jersey three years ago. When living in New Jersey, she got to know the Schaible family who began the Jason P. Schaible Fund to honor their son who passed away from cancer. The Jason P. Schaible Fund’s mission is to provide non-medical expenses to families whose children are in treatment for cancer.
Matz intends to use the money from her gofundme to cover the cost from the swing to honor Ridgefield children who have passed away recently. The remaining money will go directly to the Jason P. Schaible Fund.
For more information about Matz’s project or to donate, visit her gofundme page: https://www.gofundme.com/angels-wing. To send a check, please make it out to Jason P. Schaible Fund and send to:
Grace Matz
110 Rising Ridge Rd
Ridgefield, Ct 06877