MT HOOD VILLAGE, Ore. — An Oregon mom is taking the pain of losing her daughter and turning it into an opportunity to save other lives.
Amber Carpenter remembers her 12-year-old daughter Hollis as very loving.
"Hollis was first and foremost very giving and caring and kind," she said.
Hollis went floating on the Sandy River, an outing at a camp last summer. But when Carpenter was on her way to pick Hollis up, she got a call that her child had drowned in the river.
"Hollis was a great swimmer. She was wearing a lifejacket we were told," said Carpenter.
From what she understands, Hollis got stuck on a rock underwater and her lifejacket eventually came off.
"At the end of the day a lifejacket and swimming lessons can make a difference to a family so they don't have to experience what we experienced," Carpenter said.
May 21 would have been Hollis' 13th birthday. That day, her mom started a lifejacket fundraiser to bring the flotation devices to nearby waterways in Brightwood, a community near Mt. Hood.
"You're kind of in the middle of nowhere and there are no options," said Carpenter. "We're going to do it where people can take a lifejacket for the day, they can return it if they want, they can keep it if they want."
Local businesses, the fire station and neighbors like Mikell Sheehan all joined the effort.
"Our community always steps up for each other when we're in need," said Sheehan.
Even the youngest of Brightwood's residents wanted to help. Andi, Sheehan's 7-year-old, had birthday goal to collect 30 lifejackets
Donations for the lifejackets have far exceeded $1,000.
In honoring her daughter's memory, Carpenter says she hopes another moms never know her pain.
Carpenter is collecting new or gently used lifejackets or money to buy new ones. For more information contact everydayhollisday@gmail.com.