“Gloves for Tess” was launched on the eve of what would have been their daughter’s birthday.
UVALDE, Texas — Tess Marie Mata loved her cat Oliver, softball and the Houston Astros. She played second base because Jose Altuve was her favorite player. Tess would have turned 13 today if her life hadn’t been cut short by a gunman at Robb Elementary in Uvalde when she was 10 years old.
On Wednesday, the eve of Tess’s birthday, her family started a nonprofit in her name.
“We want to make sure that her memory is carried on,” mom Veronica Mata told KHOU 11.
“Honor her in a way that you know, the community wouldn’t forget,” dad Jerry Mata said.
“Gloves for Tess” aims to help young athletes who play softball and baseball like their daughter.
“We wanted to make sure that it was something that was going to be meaningful and something that we knew that she would be proud of,” Veronica said.
The donations collected will allow them to buy softball and baseball gloves for children in need. Their first goal is to raise enough money to buy 13 gloves in honor of Tess’s 13th birthday.
“I think she would be so happy that, you know, she’s going to be, you know, her organization is going to be doing something like that,” Jerry said.
A legacy of helping others they know Tess would be proud of.
“I hope that she can hear us and know that we miss her every day and that we, you know, we love her,” Veronica said.
Click here if you would like to learn more about the non-profit or donate.
‘Tess, give me the strength, baby girl’
Gloves for Tess is just the latest step in the family’s effort to keep Tess’s memory alive. For Veronica, honoring her daughter’s memory is part of her daily routine.
The child’s smiling photo on a bedside table is the first thing Veronica sees every morning.
“I just look at it and I just tell her, ‘Tess, give me the strength, baby girl. Help me get up.’”
Tess’s bedroom is filled with more photos and gifts they’ve received in her memory — preserved roses, knickknacks, art, and a signed Astros jersey.
On her way to work each day in a car with “Tess 10” on the license plate, Veronica listens to Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo and Ed Sheeran, favorite artists from her daughter’s playlist.
After dinner each night, Veronica stops at the cemetery to tell Tess about her day and tidy up her headstone.
“All right, baby, I will see you later. I love you,” Mata says, walking away.