A capella fundraiser for counseling parents of children lost to abuse on Sunday

• Tweet
• 

It may be too late to save one little girl’s life, but her mother and her supporters want to make sure it never happens again.

The Justice for Lily foundation will hold an a cappella concert from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday in Warriner Hall’s Plachta Auditorium. Central Harmony, On the Rox and Fish N Chips will perform for $5 a ticket.

Justice for Lily is a nonprofit started by alumna Lauren Furneaux after her 2-year-old old daughter, Lily, died. Lily’s stepmother is being held in the Macomb County Jail on sexual and physical abuse charges.

The foundation was started about a week after her death in November 2010. Since then, they have held more than a dozen events to raise money for different organizations that help prevent child abuse and spread awareness.

“We have to keep busy because that’s what keeps us going every day,” Furneaux said.

The foundation recently held two events that raised about $200 each, but Furneaux said the biggest benefits are still coming up.  The a cappella concert is the kickoff event.

Furneaux said they have raised a few thousand dollars total since November. The a cappella concert will raise funds for grief counseling for parents who have lost children.

Lily loved to watch CMU a cappella performances and went to homecoming two years ago with her mother.

“Even though she never got to be a Chippewa, she was one,” Furneaux said.

They will also collect money for troops until the end of June. The day before Lily passed away, she got to shake a soldier’s hand, which she was very proud of, Furneaux said.

Lauren’s brother Michael Furneaux, a Lapeer junior and member of Central Harmony, said his sister was a great mother.

“If we can save one child’s life, we’ve raised enough money,” Michael said.

Both siblings want to make a difference.

“It’s too late for my daughter, but not too late for the rest of them,” Lauren said.

More information about Justice for Lily events can be found on the foundation’s Facebook page, “Justice for Lily.”