Southlake Carroll cheerleaders raise more than $20,000 for Odessa shooting victims

Some suburban high school students are bringing their game and their love to a community scarred by violence. They raised thousands of dollars for victims.

SOUTHLAKE, Texas - Southlake Carroll will travel to West Texas to take on Odessa Permian in high school football. But something the cheerleaders did will help the city heal from a recent shooting.

The cheerleaders wanted to show unity to victims of the mass shooting for a fundraiser. They designed and sold t-shirts with the phrase “We Are One with Odessa.”

The response was immediate. They sold more than 900 of the $20 t-shirts in the first five days and raised $20,000. That’s more than double their fundraising goal.

Now all of the money will go to people they’ve never met in a city that’s 300 miles away. Seven people died in the Aug. 31 mass shooting.

The cheerleaders will donate the money during Friday night’s game between the Dragons and the Panthers in Odessa.