Before my beautiful butterfly Dylan was taken, I was just like any mom standing behind you in line at the grocery store or next to you on the soccer field cheering on our tiny all-stars.
In the after, I'm a different mom. I'm a mom shopping for back-to-school supplies, still tossing two of everything – pencil cases, glue sticks – into my cart before I remember and put one back. Jake is growing older – now he needs a scientific calculator, a dictionary – but Dylan is frozen in time forever, along with part of me.
The rest of me thaws enough each day to recommit to my promise to both Dylan and Jake: to work for change until there's not another Newtown, Aurora, Charleston or Lafayette. Through Sandy Hook Promise's lifesaving programs, we are making that change happen.
While it still feels awkward to ask supporters like you for money, expanding our programs takes resources. And as millions of children head back to school, it's more critical than ever that we unlock our generous donors' match challenge. We're still $18,802 away from doubling every donation, and we only have until September 1. Please, help protect more children with a gift today.
In the past two-and-a-half years, I've learned we cannot wait for lawmakers to do what we parents do so instinctively: protect our children. We put them in child safety seats. We inoculate them against diseases. We protect them from secondhand smoke.
Here's the good news: There's plenty that we as parents and community leaders can do right where we live to prevent gun violence and save precious lives. Sandy Hook Promise's research-based programs help identify at-risk behaviors, assess and respond to threats, combat social isolation, and empower children and teens to keep one another safe. Our ambitious expansion plan will provide our toolkits to even more schools and youth-serving groups – but only with your support.
Mike, with school buses fueling up and teachers prepping classrooms as we speak, we can't waste a moment. Unlocking this match will mean we can expand our lifesaving programs and spare more parents the incurable anguish of losing a child. Please, will you help with a gift today?
Yes, today I am a different mom. But you don't have to be a different parent, grandparent, sibling or friend. No one has to be. Every gun death is preventable – and by supporting Sandy Hook Promise, you are, like me, going forward to make a difference.
I'm so grateful to have you working alongside us to protect all our children and stop the tragic loss of life. Thank you.
With love,
Nicole Hockley (Dylan's mom)
