Joel Angel Juarez Las Vegas Review-Journal @jajuarezphoto

In response to your March 2 story, “Las Vegas Victims’ Fund to distribute $31.4M to victims in March”:

It was late when I got the call from Sheriff Joe Lombardo on Oct. 1. I showered and ran to the station. When I got there, I knew it was much worse than we’d first thought. We put out a call for blood, and within hours there were lines around the block. At about 3 a.m. on Oct. 2, the sheriff and I decided these victims were going to need more than blood, so we created a GoFundMe.com page so people all over the world could donate whatever they could spare to help victims.

I wouldn’t have believed you if you had told me that donations from the fund and other fundraising efforts would exceed $31 million. From bake sales and lemonade stands, to companies matching their employees’ donations, the entire community came together to help.

It’s a miracle and a demonstration that there is good in this world.

I commend the Las Vegas Victims’ Fund committee for working tirelessly to get these resources distributed.

The money is incredibly important, and I will always be grateful for the more than 88,000 donors who chipped in to help. But what will really stay with me is the way the community came together after the chaos and horror we experienced. We saw the first responders and hospital personnel who worked around the clock; the concertgoers who carried strangers to safety; and the families who brought food and water to first responders and to victims’ shelters. That was us showing the world who we are.

We will continue to heal, and we will forever be #VegasStrong.