Houston schools memorialize Vanessa Guillen on her 21st birthday

Wednesday, September 30, 2020
HOUSTON -- Houston Independent School District is honoring murdered Fort Hood Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen with "Vanessa Guillen's Day."

Wednesday, Sept. 30, would have been Vanessa's 21st birthday.

The memory of Vanessa is all over Houston, with several memorials currently up across the city, especially in the East End where she grew up and attended HISD's Cesar Chavez High School.

Her family is inviting the public to join in on celebrating her birthday and has a list of events planned.

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Starting at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, there will be a virtual run and walk for Vanessa.

At 4 p.m., the family is inviting the public to safely come out to Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home for a series of events. The funeral home was where Vanessa was laid to rest.

A homily will begin at 4 p.m. and then, there will be a dove release at 4:30 p.m.

A mariachi band will perform at 5:45 p.m., followed by a butterfly release at 6:30 p.m. and then an honor cake-cutting at 6:50 p.m.

In a video shared by the school district, Vanessa's mother and sister visited Cesar Chavez High School ahead of her birthday and shared some pretty emotional memories about when Vanessa was a student, which was not that long ago.
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