Lara Sobel, an employee of the Department for Children and Families, was killed as she left work on Friday in early August. Her alleged killer, Jody Herring, is facing charges in the deaths of three other people as well.
Sheila Manchester Coniff, treasurer of the Vermont State Employees Association, said the union started getting calls almost immediately after the event from people around the state, and around the country, asking what they could do to help.
“This has never happened to state employees before,” Manchester Coniff said, noting that Sobel was the first employee of the state to be killed in the line of duty who was not a member of law enforcement.
Now, the union has launched a fundraiser for Sobel’s daughters, Julia and Elahna.
“We felt the need to do what we could to assist these girls,” Manchester Coniff said.
The VSEA reached out to Sobel’s family to coordinate the fund. The fundraiser launched in September after the union’s annual meeting.
As of Friday morning, the fundraiser had netted $5,326.22 in donations.
There is no particular goal for the fundraiser, Manchester Coniff said. They will continue to raise money for several months, and the VSEA is reaching out out to other unions and Vermonters in general for donations.
At the next VSEA board meeting in late October, she will propose that the union donate to the fund directly.
Manchester Coniff said that many employees of the state, especially employees of DCF, are still reeling from the shooting.
“State workers are hurting,” Manchester Coniff said. “DCF workers are desperately hurting.”
Every person who donates to the fund will receive a purple wristband with “Lara Sobel Strong” written on it.
Manchester Coniff said the fund was a way that the union and Vermonters could memorialize Sobel.
“The people of Vermont are going to go through life without Lara,” Manchester Coniff said. “She did so much to help the state.”
