ROANOKE, Va. – Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, will speak at the first gala for Families Expecting Deliverance Using Prayer, also known as FEDUP.
The gala will mark the Roanoke-based organization’s 20th anniversary of supporting families affected by gun violence. The event will take place on June 6 at Charter Hall in downtown Roanoke’s City Market Building from 6 to 10 p.m.
Rita Joyce, who founded FEDUP after losing her son to gun violence in 2004, sees the gala as an opportunity to expand the organization’s impact.
“I hope that people will see what we do—how important it is to really help family members because hurt people hurt people," said Joyce. “Violence begets violence. We want to stop some of that so that when we offer a grief meeting every month to those families. We hope that we are helping them to go through the grieving process, that’s what we are hoping for.”
The organization offers monthly grief meetings and coordinates with local authorities to support families in Roanoke City in navigating the aftermath of gun-related tragedies.
Recent Roanoke City Police Department data shows 11 cases of gun violence this year, including four homicides.
While FEDUP’s gala will celebrate its anniversary, it’s also a fundraiser. The group hopes to receive money to continue to provide grief counseling and advocacy services for families.
The group also hosts an annual prayer breakfast, bringing together families to remember loved ones lost to gun violence. This year’s breakfast, scheduled for June 7, will honor the most recent homicide victims in the area.
For members like Dasaray Gray, who lost her father to gun violence when she was eight years old, FED UP provides more than just support services.
“It gives you a sense of hope and to know that others are able to pray with you for strength with you during that time, that’s really important to me, and I know that that will be very helpful to others as they push forward after the loss of a loved one,” said Gray.
The choice of Fulton as the keynote speaker carries particular significance. Her son, Trayvon Martin, was fatally shot at age 17 in Florida in 2012, a case that sparked national conversations about gun violence and racial justice. Since then, Fulton has emerged as a prominent voice in gun violence prevention advocacy.
“She is a mother impacted by gun violence. So she knows the organization and what it means to have this organization because she knows that sharing our feelings and everything that we go through with other family members is very important because she herself has experienced that same loss,” said Joyce.