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MOAB — The Moab community gathered Monday night at Grand County High School to honor 17-year-old Zoe McKinney, who died after falling approximately 30 feet while hiking.
More than 100 miles away, a man in Spanish Fork is also working to help the McKinney family.
Every day, Brennon Woodward and his family create T-shirts designed to bring communities together.
"T-shirts, and especially the designs that are with them, tend to form unity," said Woodward.
The Spanish Fork-based owners of Blue Gecko Apparel usually send apparel to high school sports teams and local organizations. But when tragedy struck the small town of Moab, Brennen Woodward — whose sister just moved there — felt called to help out.
"This is someone that we don't know directly, Zoe, but we do know my sister and the pain she's going through, and we can absolutely understand how others are affected by this," he said.
Zoe McKinney was a senior at Grand County High School. Moab police said she was on a hike with friends Friday when she slipped and fell approximately 30 feet to her death.
"It's a small town, and things like that shock them to the core," Woodward said.
In a statement, Grand County High School said, "The school community is grieving with Zoe's family and will provide love and support in any way we can," adding "Zoe was a remarkable student, and we will honor her memory throughout the remainder of this senior year."
"You always want to have the memorial ribbon on there," Woodward said. "Zoe's front and center."
Woodward said he wanted to help McKinney's parents — both financially and emotionally. So far, they've raised more than $700.
"It's an amount that we hope that they can take, and in a way, they can put it toward the memory of Zoe."
He hopes the $10 T-shirts help the grieving community.
"To be able to see a T-shirt, there's something unspoken that can be said that says, 'I stand with you,'" he said.
He and his family will continue printing and shipping the shirts south.
"Flood the state with GCHS Strong."
A GoFundMe* has also been set up to help McKinney's family.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
