NextUp Nutrition holds fundraiser for family of Dylan Rodriguez

SALISBURY, Md- NextUp Nutrition in Salisbury held a fundraiser to benefit the family of 18-year-old Dylan Rodriguez. The Delmar student and athlete was killed Sunday in a tragic car accident that shocked the entire community.

“Everyone is holding grief over all this but funerals aren’t cheap and it’s never easy on a family most people don’t have money for this kind of thing,” said Delmar Resident Erin Tucker. Tucker said he was a first-time customer at NextUp, and came in hoping to donate as much as possible to Rodriguez’s family.

Next up Nutrition Partner Peyton Kemp says Delmar is a close-knit community, and that’s why she felt the need to donate the profits from their meal replacement shakes to the family. She says she also started a tip jar and go fund me to help pay for those unable to make it to the store.

“Delmar is where I grew up it’s home for me and Dylan was friends with my younger brothers and my younger sister,” Kemp said.

Many customers say they had never heard of the store before the fundraiser and that word of mouth on social media helped them find a way to help.

“I’ve never been here before it’s not a place I’m a regular customer but I’m here to donate money to the family and support any way I can,” Tucker.

Kemp says, she even stayed open an extra hour to allow more students to donate.

“They get out of school at 2:56 and we usually close at 3 I talked to my brother and told him to invite every student that has nothing to do right after school to come and support us so I am staying open mainly for those Delmar students,” Kemp said.

She tells us her goal was to raise between 500 to a thousand dollars, and with over 170 people participating Wednesday they were able to raise over 800 dollars.

“It feels great to give back and have the impact with our community,” Kemp said.