Community, nation come together to help orphaned kids
HOUSTON
The Houston Rockets on Wednesday announced their own campaign to help the Berry children.
They are the family that has seemingly touched people around the world.
"No child would want to lose their parents and I think it's their worst nightmare. And then when the kids are left behind in the condition that they're in, it's just unbearable. So I think everybody is feeling the same thing that we're feeling," said Matthew Berry, the children's uncle and guardian.
Joshua and Robin Berry died in a car crash while on vacation July 3 and their children -- Peter, Aaron and Willa -- were all injured. The boys were paralyzed from the waist down.
"We're surviving. Just taking it slowly, but just making sure we field everything. And there's a lot to do. So we're doing OK," said Matthew Berry.
On Wednesday, they accepted help from the Rockets, taking donations for hugs from the team's mascot.
"You think of the story and it affects everybody who has children, who go on vacations -- it just touches so many different emotions. And we wanted to do something," said Tad Brown, CEO of the Houston Rockets.
The team has already donated $5,000.
"All of us with families and have driven with our families many times realize how fragile and how quickly things happen and our hearts just go out them," said Rockets head coach Kevin McHale.
The Rockets are the latest to pitch in. Also helping are the Houston Dynamo, the Israeli Consulate, a local family that created rubber bracelets to raise money, friends who held a large bake sale, and other professional athletes who've visited the children in the hospital.
The two Berry boys were in Chicago Wednesday at a Shriner's hospital for rehab, but their story is everywhere, touching almost everyone who hears it.
There are other ways you can help the Berry children. There's a new website ShowYourHearts.org where you can donate online. You can also make a $10 donation by texting "Berry" to 85944. All donations will go directly to the Joshua and Robin Berry Children's Trust.
