'Take Back the Movies' Movement Hands Out Over 1,000 Free Movie Tickets After Aurora Shooting

Three weeks after Jason Cole, a Colorado software engineer, started a blog post to do something helpful after the theater shooting in Aurora, a movement called "Take Back the Movies" was established in the city.

On the event's website, Cole wrote:" At midnight on July 20, 2012, someone tried to steal the joy of the movies from us. We're taking it back."

With the hopes of countering the terrible actions of James Holmes in an Aurora, Colo., movie theater on July 20, the charity organizers stood outside theaters in Colorado and handed out 1,300 free tickets at five different theaters in the Greater Denver area this past weekend, after receiving $9,000 in donations, according to CBS affiliate WFMY-TV.

One volunteer, Scott Frazier, wrote on the event site after the movement took place:

"We walked in the surrounding stores and invited the working staff; they loved it also. Great responses. People calling and inviting their friends. People running home to get other family members, then strolling by 15-20 minutes later in a small group smiling and thanking us again for the free movie."

Following the Colorado theater shooting, which left 12 people dead and 58 others injured, many citizens were afraid to go back to the movies, not only in Colorado, but across the nation.

Holmes is now facing trial for murder and attempted murder, and faces two weapons charges.

In the Denver area, over 60 volunteers showed up to hand out tickets to residents with the hopes of making a positive difference and showing their strength in the face of tragedy.

"For more than 1300 people who received the gift of a movie today, it was a chance for the rest of their community to reach out and show them they were loved. Hopefully, it inspired them to pass that love along to others when they left the theater, walking out of the darkness and into the light," Jason Cole wrote on his site.