January 26, 2021
New Hartford, NY – Kristin Palumbo Longo was a free spirit whose bright smile and warm embrace brought comfort and joy to those around her.
On September 28th, 2009, Kristin’s estranged husband entered their home and stabbed her 17 times, killing her and then himself. Her death sent shockwaves through their close-knit community.
Now, 11 years later, her sister, Gina Pearce, is honoring her sister’s legacy by speaking about her experience with devastation and grief caused by her sister’s domestic violence homicide, while sharing her story of survival and hope.
“After my sister died, I was devastated. But I was also compelled to research,” recalls her sister Gina Pearce. “I had to better understand how domestic violence happens, how it escalates and how to best prevent it so that other families didn’t suffer like ours.”
To do so, Gina founded Kristin’s Fund, a non-profit organization with a mission of creating safer communities through domestic violence education and prevention.
“We work to prevent domestic violence by educating kids and communities about healthy relationships. We want people to know how to react when unhealthy relationships and domestic violence touches their lives.”
Gina believes that educated communities are safer communities, educated families are safer families and educated children are safer children.
Launched in 2016, Kristin’s Fund has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for domestic violence awareness and prevention. A volunteer organization, the fund has since evolved to include a platform for Gina to share her story and create awareness outside of their community to educate as many people as possible to stop the cycle of abuse.
