DENVER — The family of a young Coloradan is continuing his legacy through acts of kindness.
Decals on cars across the Denver metro area read "Live Like Finn." Stickers with those three words are used to pin up $5 bills by strangers on gas pumps.
In his eight years of life, Finn Waitman left an indelible mark on the community. Finn was a second grader at Denver's Arrows Academy.
On Nov. 20, 2021, Finn was involved in a car crash. He did not survive. It's a day that forever changed the Waitman family.
"You feel like you're just floating," said Ricky Waitman, Finn's father. "Can't really put it an emotion on it. There's a numbness."
Finn's passing was an excruciating loss to the community, but even in his death, he made an impact. His family donated his organs — saving 8 lives — and the impact didn't stop there.
The Waitman family launched Finn's Army, a program under their 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, PUR International.
"A lot of people who go through grief don't have that army, and it's just perpetuating that grief and trauma," Ricky Waitman said.
Finn's Army comes in to help Coloradans hit with tragedy, raising money for funeral services, meals, transporting and grief counseling.
"We come in with an army and just do the things that are impossible to do when you're just first hitting tragedy," Rebecca Waitman, Finn's mother, said.
Most recently, Finn’s Army is raising money for the families of the six 16-year-old girls who died in a crash with a semi-truck in Tishomingo, Oklahoma on Tuesday.
Ricky Waitman’s uncle, Bobby Waitman, is the superintendent of Tishomingo Public Schools. In a statement Tuesday, he said, "Our district has suffered a great loss today involving high school students. Our hearts are broken, and we are grieving with our students and staff."
If you’d like to contribute to the fundraiser, visit purinternational.org.
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