Nate Moore and Michael Turell, members of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity at TCU, knew Wes Smith through a finance program and some football friends — he quickly became their close friend.
When 21-year-old Smith was shot and killed Aug. 31 outside of a Fort Worth bar, the TCU community mourned and created campaigns like ‘Win 4 Wes’ and the Wes Smith Memorial Scholarship, which has raised nearly $30,000.
“When that tragedy happened, originally, this race was supposed to be meant for a philanthropy event for the fraternity, but we decided to switch the cause to ‘Run 4 Wes,’” Turell said. “It’s to really spread his message to people and his values of faith.”
TCU students ran four miles every four hours from 4 p.m. Friday through noon Sunday in support of the slain TCU. The run was organized by Moore and Turell.
As part of the David Goggins Foundation, the 4X4X48 helps send children of fallen soldiers to college, but the students decided to use the physical challenge to raise funds for the Wes Smith scholarship fund.
“He really meant so much to the TCU community. We had a vigil on campus for Wes last week. I took a look around, and there had to easily be more than 2,500 people there,” Moore said. “It was just so full and the TCU community is tight, but I already know Wes made it tighter for a lot of people.”
Cristian ArguetaSoto is the community engagement journalist at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him by email or via Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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