El Paso Strong

August 3, 2019. This is a date that will be remembered with infamy throughout El Paso after a gunman opened fire in a shopping store. And while the victims will always be remembered, so will the mass of people that came out to help: the first responders, hundreds of blood donors, and the community leaders who spent weeks comforting victims, their families and attending funerals for those who did not make it. They’ll remember the strength of a community brought together by tragedy and proud to be El Paso Strong.

The 2,000 Aloricans residing in El Paso, working for the East and West sites, wanted to know “What can I do? How can I help?” Instead of the friendly competitions they normally sport between themselves, they united together in the single effort to provide strength and support. “MLBA was born embracing this notion that family takes care of family—so that’s what we did,” said Hope Millan, Operations Manager at El Paso West. “We reached out to our SmartSource vendor and created our own #EPSTRONG shirts so Aloricans can share their love for our city.”

Between the East and West site, 600 hundred shirts were sold and $14,000 was raised, then donated to Paso Del Norte Foundation who is assisting the victims of the shooting and their families. Hope continued, “El Paso Strong is about El Pasoans taking care of one another as if they were family and we were proud to contribute to that as Aloricans. We hope that in some way, this small gesture will help in comforting those afflicted.”