A third REALTOR® lost a child in the Valentine’s Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., REALTOR® Magazine has learned. Mitchell Dworet, a sales associate with Skye Louis Realty in Coconut Creek, Fla., lost his 17-year-old son, Nicholas, in the massacre that killed 17 people. The
daughters of two other area REALTORS®, Fred Guttenberg and Shara Kaplan, were also gunned down in the melee, which ranks as one of the deadliest shootings in modern U.S. history.
Nicholas Dworet was a senior at the high school. Just before his death, he had secured a swimming scholarship to attend the University of Indianapolis. His younger brother, who also was a student at the high school, was injured in the shooting when a bullet grazed the back of his head. He is reportedly recovering at home.
Skye Louis Realty, where Mitchell Dworet has worked for the past two years, is encouraging its associates to donate to a
GoFundMe campaign set up for Dworet’s family. As of Tuesday morning, the campaign had raised $45,788. The family also plans to start a foundation in Nicholas’s name called “Swim for Nick.”
The Dworet family declined to speak to REALTOR® Magazine but wrote on a fundraising page to help finance funeral costs for Nicholas: “We want to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and for helping our family and friends through this unthinkable time. We know everyone will miss Nicholas dearly, but always remember, if you are missing a loved one who has passed away—those we love don’t go away. They walk beside us every day, unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed, and very dear. May Nick’s smile forever swim in your heart.”
Donations are also being raised to support Guttenberg, a sales associate at Charles Rutenberg Realty in Fort Lauderdale, and Kaplan, a sales associate at Coldwell Banker in Boca Raton. GoFundMe campaigns for Guttenberg’s daughter,
Jaime Guttenberg, 14, and Kaplan’s daughter,
Meadow Pollack, 17, both of whom were killed in the shooting, are helping to cover funeral expenses.
Fred Guttenberg has been vocal about school safety issues in the aftermath of the shooting that took his daughter’s life, appearing alongside lawmakers in press conferences and on news stations across the country. He has launched a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness for school safety. “Three weeks ago, my world changed,” Guttenberg told REALTOR® Magazine on Tuesday. “What I do know is that my efforts fighting for school safety are now my mission in life and my main focus going forward.”
—Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
