Business & Tech
After Losing Stepson in Gun Death, Business Owner Donates to Gun Safety Group
Genetta Jackson, owner of King's Kloset in Oak Park, will donate 30 percent of proceeds from this Sunday to the gun safety advocacy group Moms Demand Action.
Jonathan Jackson Jr. lost his life in an accidental gun death at age 5 in Chicago.
For a while after, and still today, it's hard for Genetta Jackson to talk about. After her stepson's death, she was approached by gun control groups asking if she would share her story.
"I didn't get involved. I usually don't tell that story to most people because it's still new to us. We're still coping," Jackson said.
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But the owner of King's Kloset, a high-end children's boutique in Oak Park, is getting involved now, and this time it wasn't forced.
Christine Fenno, the Chicago chapter leader of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, approached Jackson simply to ask if she could hang fliers in the store.
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Then she heard Jackson's story.
"It really brought me back," Jackson said. "I told her my story. It all pieced together and it seemed like fate. I decided I wanted to contribute."
From noon to 5 p.m. this Sunday, March 10, King's Kloset will have a special day of shopping, with 30 percent of the sales going to Moms Demand Action. King's Kloset is located at 144 Harrison St. in Oak Park.
"I understand what's going on in the streets of Chicago," Jackson said. "My business is here (in Oak Park), there's a reason I started it here. It's a real serious issue. We have to do something."
Jackson said she was more comfortable getting involved with this group because it's made up of mothers, and she said she's built a friendship with Fenno outside of the group.
King's Kloset will be launching its spring and summer lines at the shopping day, featuring new and upscale consigned items for children.
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