Shannon Collins Memorial Garden Celebrating 1 Year

SANTA CRUZ, Calif.—It’s been one year since officials at LELO designed and installed a memorial garden at the Walnut Avenue Women’s Center in Santa Cruz, Calif., to honor Shannon Collins. Now, LELO employees and volunteers will gather this weekend to mark the anniversary and participate in a Garden Day. Collins was a local business owner who touched the lives of many people in the Santa Cruz community and was one of the first retailers to carry LELO products in the U.S. Collins, who co-owned the adult boutique Camouflage in Santa Cruz with her husband Ken Vinson, was murdered in May 2013. The 38-year-old Collins was stabbed to death in broad daylight by a man police identified as Charles Edwards III, a parolee with a history of serious mental illness who was released from a state correctional facility after a clerical error. At the time of the attack, Collins was walking to a hair appointment. LELO employees and volunteers will honor Collins and the garden on Saturday, Oct. 4, by reworking the front area of the garden, planting bulbs for spring color and preparing the garden for cold weather. Volunteers are asked to bring bags of soil and small gardening tools. All ages are invited and encouraged to join us in creating and continuing this garden. The Garden Day takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Walnut Avenue Women's Center, 303 Walnut Ave., in Santa Cruz, Calif. Charitable donations are greatly needed and gratefully appreciated, and will be put directly toward supporting the Shannon Collins Memorial Garden at the Walnut Avenue Women's Center. Anyone can donate online by visiting wawc.org, or by mailing a check to Shannon's Garden, c/o Walnut Avenue Women's Center, 303 Walnut Ave., Santa Cruz, CA 95060.