Matthew McConaughey spent time in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas on Friday to mark the somber occasion of the second anniversary of the school shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers.
The Dallas Buyers Club star, 54, shared a photo to Instagram of himself with his wife Camila Alves and their kids Levi, 15, Vida, 14, and Livingston, 11.
The people gathered to pay tribute to the children and teachers of Robb Elementary School held hands and stood in a circle looking solemn.
‘Two years ago Uvalde met with an unimaginable tragedy. Today, let’s remember the victims and their families, what we all learned, and continue to do what we can to not have more of these memories. #maketheirlivesmatter #uvalde,’ he captioned the post.
The Oscar winner – who has been promoting his and Alves’ tequila in cheeky ads – has been actively involved with his hometown since the shooting took place.
Matthew McConaughey spent time in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas today to mark the somber occasion of the second anniversary of the school shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers
When the shooting happened in 2022, McConaughey had one instinct: to go to Uvalde.
‘I was working in the studio all day. So I came out, and my phone had blown up. I checked the news,’ he told People at the time, describing the ’40 seconds after I found out the news.
‘There was a message from Camila, so I called her right back. Being in shock, I was a little immobilized, and she said it before I could: “We’ve got to go.” And I was like, “Yeah, we do.”‘
McConaughey was raised in Uvalde with his brothers in a house on the town’s main street with a pecan tree in the yard.
It was the first house his mother Kim, a school teacher, and father, Jim, an oil pipe salesman, bought together.
They were there in the hours and days after it just happened, when bodies hadn’t been identified, families were in limbo and the whole town was in pain and shock that was quickly moving towards grief.
‘When we went to Uvalde, we both didn’t know where or how we would be needed most, but once we arrived it became clear that our connection was with the families — and especially Camila with the mothers,’ the How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days actor said.
‘She became a support system for them, and even now, long after we have left, she still maintains that support when needed.
‘There was a connection there between her and the families that was different than what they needed from me. . . . When a need is clear, like in this case, her dedication to serving and being a trusted teammate is unquestionable,’ he gushed.
The whole family had a night out at a benefit to raise money for children’s education, health, and wellness at the Mack, Jack & McConaughey event
They promoted the tequila with pantless photos while dressed for croquet
And after meeting the families of the Uvalde tragedy one thing became clear: they didn’t want to hear: ‘I’m sorry.’
‘In the first meetings, we said, “So what was your favorite thing about your kid? What’d they love to do?” And each one would light up, and they’re smiling and then they’re laughing. They’d just come to life.
And I realized that they weren’t mourning the death of their child as much as they were just trying to keep the life force within their [child’s] dreams, the memory of that person, alive. [It was],’ he explained.
‘”I just want their life to matter. I just want their loss to matter.” And after a few days of these conversations, it became clear we had more to do [and] were still on the journey,’ McConaughey said.
