King Soopers Commits $1 Million to the Colorado Healing Fund

After the deadly shooting at its King Soopers store in Boulder, Colo., Kroger Co. has made a $1 million donation to the Colorado Healing Fund to support the needs of victims, families, survivors and the community affected by tragedy. The contribution will be provided through the company’s public charity.

CHF provides assistance and hope to victims of mass violence. The King Soopers donation will help provide mental health services and other financial relief to victims and their families and affected survivors who have been traumatized by this event.

“The entire King Soopers family continues to mourn the loss of those who were victims of this senseless act of violence,” said Steve Burnham, president of King Soopers/City Market. “We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from our fellow Coloradans, and we thank everyone for their incredible kindness.”

The March 22 incident resulted in 10 deaths including four store employees, four customers, a responding police officer, and an Instacart shopper. A 21-year-old suspect is being held.

Kroger, based in Cincinnati, said the store would remain closed while an investigation continued.

King Soopers said it was taking several additional actions to support associates, including:

• Providing access to mental health services and other benefits to support associates’ mental and physical well-being.

• Ensuring associates who were directly affected by the tragedy can recover with the support of emergency paid leave.

• Offering an associate hotline to answer questions or assist with ongoing concerns.

• Directing additional assistance to all the victims’ families to support funeral expenses.

“During this unprecedented time, our most urgent priority is to provide a safe environment for associates and customers, and we will continue to make decisions that best support their needs,” Burnham continued. “The Boulder King Soopers store will remain closed until the police investigation is complete. We are committed to helping the community grieve and heal from this tragic event.”

The company said it would also provide shoppers with an easy option to contribute through “round-up” check stand donations, direct giving at coloradohealingfund.org, and sending a text: BoulderStrong to 243725.

Separately, a fund-raising effort for the family of Lynn Murray, who was working as an Instacart shopper, had raised nearly half of its $150,000 goal including a $50,000 donation from the San Francisco-based tech company.

Victims of the shooting were identified as police officer Eric Talley, 51; Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jodi Waters, 65.

Retail stores have been the site of several horrific mass shootings in recent years including a Walmart in El Paso, Texas in 2019, and a Weis Markets store in 2017. Earlier this month two workers in Kroger’s Roundy's distribution center in Oconomowoc, Wisc. were shot to death by a suspect who took his own life. The Kroger Foundation has separately contributed $1 million to a fundraiser for those victims.