“Big things are happening and unfolding and her legacy and her life will be honored for everything that she believed in.” ~Brooks’ Mother
The foundation created to honor the life of Louisiana State University student Madison Brooks will be displayed on a big scale beginning Friday when a billboard promoting the foundation starts running in New York’s Times Square.
“It was supposed to start March 1, but they were able to finish the commercial early,” said Brooks’ mother and director of the Madison Brooks Foundation Ashley Baustert “So, they’re going to have it start running (Friday). Big things are happening and unfolding and her legacy and her life will be honored for everything that she believed in.”
Brooks, 19, died after being hit by a vehicle on Burbank Drive on Jan. 15. Brooks was taken to the hospital where she was placed on a ventilator. Her family made the difficult decision to pull her off life support and donated her organs.
An autopsy confirmed Brooks was raped prior to four men dropping her off, where she then walked onto Burbank Dr. and subsequently, was hit by a car. Four men was arrested in connection to Brooks’ alleged rape.
The 10-second billboard slot is expected to run for three months with a minimum of four times every hour for 20 hours a day.
Baustert said Neutron Media, a company in Canada, reached out to her friend Jenny Reimold about the billboard spot in Times Square. Reimold has been a big part of the foundation’s creation and promotion.
“This is really the only thing that gives me any type of comfort,” said Brooks’ mother. “I mean, I have good days and bad days, but when I am working on her foundation, she’s still here and she’s a part of it. And she’s bringing about positive change just as she would be doing if she was still here. That is what gets me through each day.”
The goal of the Madison Brooks Foundation, according to the foundation’s website, is to provide financial help to those in need, to advocate for the safety of young adults, and to spread awareness for the gift of organ donation.
READ ABOUT FOUNDATION (OR DONATE TO IT)
“We definitely want to set up a scholarship for those in need to pay for their college and then of course, she was very strong about the gift of organ donation and was able to donate her heart and her kidneys,” Baustert said. “We want to promote awareness of organ donation and then the safety of young adults is really key here, especially with the tragedy that happened to her.”
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