Melrose man raising money to send meals to hospital in Uvalde, Texas

MELROSE – From his dining room table, Mike Carraggi is working to unite one community to help another, thousands of miles away. 

The 33-year-old father of two said this past week’s events from Uvalde, Texas, left him with no choice but to step up. 

“When you see something like this happen, you just think: How can I help?” 

Carraggi is raising money to help cover the cost of some meals for the staff at Uvalde Memorial Hospital. It is where most of the victims of Tuesday’s school shooting are being treated. 

His goal is to raise $2,500 for the hospital and local organizations on the ground in Uvalde. 

“When we have had troubles here in Melrose, people have reached out to us and supported us, and we thought how could we as a community do that for Uvalde?” said Carraggi. 

A former writer for The Boston Globe, Carraggi recalled a time when The Chicago Tribune sent over a newsroom full of pizzas in the wake of the Boston Marathon Bombings. It left a lasting impression. 

“It’s the little things that add up to one big expression of ‘We are here for you.'”

Within hours of posting the idea to Facebook, Carraggi said he had more than 200 people in Melrose eager to help in any way they can. 

“Everyday people who are all like me, who are angry, sad, grief stricken, who want to see some kind of change and want to see people feel a little bit better,” said Carraggi. “Everyone is hurting, and it is just nice to know people are there for you. It isn’t in place of the changes that need to happen, but it’s just small piece.”