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The community is rallying behind the family of a 23-year-old Fremont woman who was the victim of a Feb. 16 shooting. A number of businesses and individuals have established fundraisers to help with the medical costs for Ashley Bunn, who remains hospitalized in Omaha. A fund has been established in Ashley’s name at Fremont National Bank to help defray medical costs.

“There is a tremendous support group out there that we never even knew existed,” said Cindy Bunn, Ashley’s mother.  There are a pair of events this weekend to support the Bunn family.
The Vintage Lounge in Fremont will have donation jars set up at the door and throughout the bar Saturday night during a hip-hop show featuring artists from O.T.T. records.
“I don’t know Ashley personally, but I do know her cousins and I’ve lost a friend to domestic violence so it kind of touches home,” said Bobbie Carlson, owner of the Vintage Lounge. “It’s just to bring awareness to domestic violence. It’s usually behind closed doors and it’s usually not out in the public. People are being injured and dying from it.”
The bar also is in the process of organizing a poker run that will take place in the spring.
First Christian Church in Fremont is hosting a get well card signing for Ashley from 8-11:30 a.m. Sunday. Members of the church, located at 1041 N. Nye Ave., and friends of Ashley are encouraged to sign the card.

Bracelets with the message “Praying for Ashley” are being sold to raise money for the family.
The bracelets were the brainchild of Ainslee Kroenke, who lives in David City and was a friend of Ashley in high school.
Kroenke’s mother, April Kardisco, works with two of Ashley’s aunts at Fremont Family Planning, where the bracelets are available. There is a $3 suggested donation.
Kardisco said she ordered 600 of the bracelets, which are purple to represent domestic violence, and 500 were sold within the first 24 hours.
“I think there’s just a large base of people who know who she is and who the family is,” Kardisco said.
Kardisco isn’t surprised by the large number of people wanting to support the Bunn family.
“I think it’s because this is a tragedy and I think Fremont is a relatively close-knit community, and I think we would do it for anybody that is a victim of domestic violence or a tragedy,” she said.
Kardisco said more bracelets have been ordered and can be picked up at Fremont Family Planning between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday or at her home, 3311 Marian Lane.
Fremonter Amanda Roberts, a friend of Ashley’s since grade school, is planning a bake sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 24 at Fremont’s Hy-Vee Food Store. Roberts said she is hoping to have similar events that day at other locations as well.

Roberts created a Facebook page for the event and nearly 3,000 people have received invites.  “I think a lot of people just want to help her and her family through this because it’s a very big deal for her to be a victim of domestic abuse,” Roberts said. “I’m shocked at how Fremont has come together by this. It blows my mind how close Fremont has gotten with something like this happening.”
A soup and salad dinner, along with a silent auction, is scheduled for 5-8 p.m. Friday at Vatterott College in Omaha.
Cindy Bunn said her daughter was listed in stable condition earlier this week after undergoing surgery.
“She’s doing as well as can be expected,” Cindy Bunn said. “It’s going to be a very long road.”