BREAKING NEWS

Vegas Shooting: Pregnant victim, first to receive a check from a fund set up by survivors to help with her recovery 

• Route91Strong was created on October 20 by Brian Claypool and Lisa Fine
• The organization specifically serves survivors of the mass shooting at the Vegas Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival who do not qualify for other types of aid
• On Sunday, the group issued its first checks to beneficiaries, totaling $3,924
• On October 1, Stephen Paddock used a modified firearm to shoot and kill 58 people and injure more than 400 others at that concert before killing himself
• California residents Claypool and Fine are both survivors of the massacre
• The group now has about $41,000 to disperse to more than a dozen people
• To donate, apply for funds or become involved, visit Route91Strong.org

A non-profit organization created to provide support for victims of the Las Vegas shooting has issued its first checks to survivors on Sunday.

Colie Knoke, a single mother with a second child on the way, was the first beneficiary to receive a check from Route91Strong, totaling nearly $2,000.

'We’re trying to help people who have fallen through the cracks,' co-found Brian Claypool told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Two other women, Mindy Foster and Stacie Armentrout, each received checks for $1,000 on Sunday.

Claypool, himself a survivor of shooter Stephen Paddock's massacre of 58 people attending the Vegas Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival in Las Vegas on October 1, created the organization with fellow survivor and California resident Lisa Fine.

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Colie Knoke (left), a single mother with a second child on the way, was the first beneficiary to receive a check from Route91Strong, which is a non-profit organization co-created by friend and fellow survivors Lisa Fine (right) to provide support for victims of the Las Vegas shooting; The two women are seen here before Stephen Paddock opened fired on the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival

Knoke has completely depleted all of her savings, after being out of work for the entire month of October, following the tragedy.

  

'My plans to make money all of October went away,' Knoke said, who works as a bartender and promotional model in Vegas.

'Instead [of working,] I was trying to put together the pieces and just trying to process things,' she said.

While dealing with the emotional stress related to experiencing the trauma of a mass shooting, her ability to work had become so limited that she has only worked once each month since October, and has racked up $7,000 in credit card debt. 

'Right now I have nothing,' she told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

'My bank account is at zero,' she said. 'I’m really glad I saw this support group on Facebook.'

To top it off, the mother of a two-year-old is also currently eight months pregnant with baby number two. 

To lighten her load, Route91Strong held a baby shower for the expectant mother on Saturday, according to NBC News. And on Sunday, Knoke received a check from the organization for $1,924.

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To lighten her load, Route91Strong held a baby shower for Knoke on Saturday

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Knoke, already mother to a two-year-old, is currently eight months pregnancy with baby #2

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The day after the baby shower, Route91Strong presented Knoke with a check for $1,924

Knoke, who was friends with Fine prior to the tragic events of October 1, was joined by Mindy Foster, who was also working as a bartender at the concert that night, and shared a similar story.

'I didn’t work for two months after the shooting due to (post-traumatic stress disorder), and I was injured as well,' Foster said. 'In January I had to take out two small personal loans just to pay my rent, and paying those back are absolutely killing me.'

Foster experienced a neck injury as a result of the attack, but because she didn't go to the hospital before October 10, that rendered her ineligible for compensation from the Las Vegas Victims' Fund. 

'I love you guys. Thank you,' Foster told the Route91Strong representatives who handed her a check for $1,000. 'You guys are dealing with the same stuff we are; you are amazing.'

Source DailyMail

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