Social media campaign helps Kingston community grieve the loss of child struck outside her school

The parent council at Mother Theresa Catholic Elementary School has started a social media campaign to help with the grieving process for 10-year-old Xóchitl Azul Rivera, the young student who tragically lost her life after being struck by a pickup truck outside the school.

The parent council is asking the community to turn their Christmas lights back on and display hearts in their front windows.

“We just want to make sure that we’re there for the family, it’s the biggest thing with this” said Paul Brioux, Chair of the parent council at Mother Teresa.

“It’s just about being there for the family and making sure they know the love and support they have in this community” he said.

Flowers, bears and candles line the roadside in front of the elementary school as the community continues to mourn the death of 10-year-old Rivera.

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“The family asked us to respect their privacy, which is understandable, so we came up with the idea that perhaps we could just ask people to turn on their Christmas lights,” said Brioux.

“It’s my understanding that the young girl loved Christmas lights, so it was a nice tribute that way; obviously our hearts are broken for the family,” he added.

The parent council’s call for hearts in windows and lights turned on was met with great support.

Many showed their tributes online with the hashtag “lights and hearts”.

Mother Teresa students Autumn, Quinn, Claire and Oliver spent their P.A. day completing their display in honour of Rivera.

“I hope with this whole thing that people really know that we are all there for the family and that we really do care,” said Autumn.

“It’s something small that we can do just to show our support for the family,” she added

Over the next few nights, the parent council is hoping to see the community support through lights and hearts displays.

Kingston Police continue to investigate exactly how this tragedy happened but have ruled out criminal charges.