Group searching for volunteers to help honor Aurora theater shooting victims

AURORA, Colo. — Saturday marks 12 years since 12 people were killed and 70 people were hurt in a mass shooting at the Century 16 Theater in Aurora.

Ahead of the planned events, board members of the 7/20 Memorial Foundation are searching for volunteers to help with the events.

"I'm calling them ambassadors to the vendors, and it's just so that they're the runners. If they have problems, they need water, if they need something, then they have somebody going and checking on them throughout the day," said Tiina Marie Coons, secretary for the 7/20 Memorial Foundation.

This time of year is always a sensitive one for Coons and her family. Her son was in the theater the night of the shooting but made it out alive.

"We've always been able to talk about it," she said. "There's no, like, fear of talking about it, and it's just become like a normal part of our lives."

Coons said she decided to join the foundation because she wanted to do her part in making sure the 12 lives lost are always remembered by the community.

"Good and bad things happen, and it's how you choose to respond," Coons said. "I choose to make a positive out of something so tragic."

Brennan Linsley/AP

Marcus Weaver survived the theater shooting but lost his friend, Rebecca Wingo. He agrees with Coons' sentiments.

"I really spend time remembering the people who are not with us and all the progress that, you know, some of our survivors, the survivors of the theater shooting, have made and celebrate those things," Weaver said.

Since the shooting, Weaver has made it his mission to not only help the survivors from that night but also help others throughout the Aurora community.

"I feel like ever since I left that theater, my steps have been ordered," he said.

Weaver now works with a nonprofit that helps people find employment and success once they get out of jail.

"I come here every week to the Aurora parole office and partner with the great people doing great work here and other community partners," he said.

Twelve years since the theater shooting, Weaver feels like he's in the best spot possible.

"My life is just been renewed from just all this," he said.

Weaver and Coons are encouraging community members to lend a hand during the 7/20 Memorial Foundation's weekend events to help honor those lost.

"They need volunteers who want to come out, you know, and not only just remember what happened, but also celebrate as well," Weaver said.

The community is invited to attend the annual midnight vigil at the Aurora Water Wise Garden. The ceremony begins Friday at 10:30 p.m. and concludes at 1 a.m. Saturday. Beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday, the 7/20 Memorial Foundation will host its Day of Resilience wellness and healing fair, which will include a 5k run/ walk and a chalk art festival.

These are the lives lost that we continue to remember today:

AJ (Alexander) Boik . AJ had just graduated from Gateway High School where he played baseball, said a family friend. Boik had planned on attending the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in the fall. His dream was to become an art teacher and open his own studio, his family said.

Jonathan Blunk . The father of two served three tours in the Persian Gulf and North Arabian Sea between 2004 and 2009, close friend James Gill of Brighton, Colo., told the Associated Press. He had high hopes for his future, with plans to re-enlist in the Navy and the goal of becoming a Navy SEAL. He died in the shooting after he pushed his girlfriend Jansen Young under the theater seat, saving her life.

Jesse Childress , 29, was a staff sergeant at Buckley Space Force Base and worked as a cyber-systems operator. Friends said he spent nearly every day of the week playing sports -- softball on Mondays, bowling on Tuesdays, reported the Denver Post. Childress loved comics and superhero movies. He had recently bought a black Scion — a car he nicknamed the "Batmobile."

Gordon Cowden. Gordon loved life and his family. He went to the midnight movie premiere with his two teenage children. The father of four lived in Aurora, but was described as a "true Texas gentleman" in a family statement. He loved the outdoors and owned his own business. Cowden's teenage children escaped the shooting unharmed.

Micayla Medek , 23, was saving money for a trip to India. She was working at Subway and attended Aurora Community College. Her father, Greg Medek, told the Los Angeles Times that Micayla loved Hello Kitty, hot pink and Beanie Babies. At her funeral service, mourners wore pink ribbons, some with Hello Kitty faces on them, in honor of her fondness for the color and the character.

Matt McQuinn died trying to protect his girlfriend. As the gunman opened fire, McQuinn dove on top of Samantha Yowler. McQuinn's stepfather, David Jackson, told the Dayton Daily News that McQuinn was a hero. Yowler was injured in the leg, a family spokesman said. McQuinn, a 27-year-old Ohio native, had moved to Colorado just a few months earlier.

Jessica Ghawi was a journalist and blogger who also went by the name Jessica Redfield. Ghawi had recently moved to Denver from San Antonio, Texas, to pursue her dream of becoming a sportscaster. "She had a huge heart," Ghawi's mother, Sandy Phillips said. "Cared deeply for other people." A few months earlier, Ghawi was visiting Toronto with her boyfriend, a minor league hockey player, when they narrowly escaped a deadly shooting in the city's main downtown mall.

Veronica Moser Sullivan, 6, went to see the Batman movie with her mother, Ashley Moser, 25. Veronica died from her injuries. Ashley was left in critical condition, with gunshot wounds to her neck and abdomen. She was paralyzed below the waist. "(Veronica was) a vibrant little girl ... just was bragging about learning how to swim on Tuesday," Annie Dalton, Ashley's aunt said.

Alex Sullivan was at the midnight showing of the new Batman movie as part of his birthday celebration. "#TheDarkKnightRises OMG COUNTING down till it start can't wait going to be the best birthday ever," Sullivan wrote on Facebook. His family called him "their real-life superhero. Alex was smart, funny and above all loved dearly by his friends and family," the family statement said.

Alex Teves , 24, was originally from Arizona but was living in the Denver area, after graduating from the University of Denver. Teves' father, Tom Teves, told ABC News that his son had blocked his girlfriend from a bullet when he was himself shot and killed. His father said Alex would do anything to save his girlfriend.

Rebecca Ann Wingo , 32, was a devoted mother, who always sat on the front row at church. Shannon Dominguez, who worked with Wingo on weekends, said she was friendly with everyone and always seemed to be in a good mood. "She had a really bubbly personality," Dominguez said. "She was a pretty happy person. She just never really seemed ... like with work, she never got irritated. She was pretty happy to be here."

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