DETROIT (WXYZ) — Early Saturday evening, the community gathered to support Wynter Smith's family with a fundraising dinner.
The FBI found the two-year-old's body after searching for her for several days. Her mother's ex-boyfriendis behind bars and faces several charges.
Saturday's fundraiser took place inside Triumph Church's east campus location.
“That’s homemade. That’s home cooked food," said chef Cleophus Clark.
Clark, the owner of Club Celebrity, is among the local chefs who donated various dishes and desserts.
“Just more than happy to be a part to help," he told 7 Action News.
Wynter's grandfather, Almount Smith Sr., expressed his gratitude for the support "and the love and prayers that been with us from day one."
Sharen Eddings, Wynter grandmother told 7 Action News, “(The event) got me out the house. I been in the house for like a week. So, it just got me out of the house. I just feel better being around so much love.”
She also said she's grateful for the event organizers for coming to them with the idea.
Miami-based chef Starex Smith, who widely known on social media as The Hungry Black Man, connected with local restaurateur chef Max Hardy.
Hardy said, “Every restaurant we’ve reached out to was like ‘Chef, what we need? We got it.’ Everybody’s been, ya know, receptive of what we’re doing which is great man."
Chef Smith said, "It’s more about acknowledging this child who was taken from us and acknowledging the family and providing that level compassion and support, and I think Detroiters are showing over and over and over that’s a value of the city.”
Because of Chef Smith's post on social media, Selena Williams said that's how she learned about this worthy cause.
“Just kind of like hit home to us because we have a daughter," Williams explained. "So, in the event anything like that happens that’s just heartbreaking, and you want to do whatever it is you can do to come out and support your community and show them how much you care and how much you love."
Looking for continued support, Wynter’s grandfather said he and one of his son’s created a memorial in the alley where she was found. He's calling it Wynter Wonderland.
“Any volunteers wanna come out and help, let’s clean that area up (and) show that it’s just not (an) alley," Almount Smith Sr. said. "But it’s a memorial. It’s a home now,"
Smith said anyone interested in helping with the cleanup efforts for Wynter’s memorial can reach out to him by clicking here and also view his posts about their efforts.
