South Bend residents look at 'El Paso Challenge' for unity

SOUTH BEND, Ind, - The new Time Magazine cover shows South Bend as one of 253 US cities that has experienced a mass shooting this year.

Now, after the El Paso Challenge started encouraging people there to do 22 good deeds to help heal the community, some in South Bend said this could help here as well.

Ruben Martinez started the El Paso Challenge a couple of days ago, asking people in El Paso to do 22 good deeds for those who died in the mass shooting at a Walmart.

His social media challenge went viral, and people here in Michiana are taking note. We spoke to people in South Bend who see this challenge working well in this city.

We walked around downtown South Bend asking people about the challenge. Although most had never heard of it, everyone wanted to join the challenge.

“Absolutely,” Debra Pilipow said.

“I accept this challenge,” Stuart Mcpherson said.

“Yes we would definitely do the challenge,” Diana Palomo and Citlaly Chavero said. “Yes.

They all agreed about how helpful it would be to that community.

“These people need everybody, you know, this is when you do come together. This is when you show who you are, as a community, as a country,” Mcpherson said.

According to Time Magazine’s cover, South Bend is one of the hundreds of cities that have experienced a mass shooting this year.

People we spoke to said this challenge could really help to heal not just El Paso, but South Bend, too.

“A challenge like this would be good for south bend, just because, you know we all need to heal because of all the tragedies that have happened here in south bend and also around this nation of ours,” Palomo said.

“Anything that brings people together for a good cause, that’s just unifying. That’s called unity,” Mcpherson said. “And we need more of it, instead of this divisiveness that we have. Let’s bring the people together. If it takes a challenge then that’s a good thing.”

It can be as simple as opening a door for someone

“It doesn’t have to be big things, it could just be smiling and saying hello to somebody on the street,” Pilipow said. “You don’t know how you change someone’s day with just a smile.”

The challenge went viral and people all over have joined in to help the El Paso community.