Celeste Peterson lost her only child in the Virginia Tech massacre, and in the 15 years since, she’s led an organization created to honor her daughter. On Saturday, she’ll be honored in Centreville, Virginia, as citizen of the year.
The Erin Peterson Fund honors one of 32 people killed in the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007.
“We started out with just giving away scholarships, right, and we still give away scholarships,” Peterson said.
A young men’s leadership group was set up, then another club for girls.
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The fund also buys new coats for elementary-aged kids after Celeste Peterson learned some were going to school in the cold without them.
“It physically hurt,” she said. “It felt like, I was like, ‘Oh, we gonna stop that,’ so we started working with the school social worker at Centreville Elementary.”
The fund’s work continued to expand, recently stocking nearby schools with food and snack bags for children who need them.
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Peterson said while she was raised in a family that helped others, Erin’s giving as a teenager most inspired her.
“She would show these acts of kindness that were not in me, not innately like they were with her,” Peterson said. “And just watching that, she forced me to look at the world differently.”
“She left a great compass as to what it was I supposed to do when she was gone,” she said.
Peterson’s work is also a tribute to her husband, who died in 2016.
“I miss my family, so, so much, and, um, she keeps me – it’s OK to cry, Mom, but we have to help people,” she said through tears.
Peterson said she has more ideas to put into action, including her dream – a youth and senior center that would bear her daughter’s name.
