The Parkland Shooting: 5 Things You Can Do.
Since 2013, there have been nearly 300 school shootings in America. This week, Parkland students made a bod statement to the press, “We are going to be the last mass shooting.” They are taking action. They are planning two school walkouts and a trip to Tallahassee to have sit-downs with legislators in the state Capitol. They also are planning a trip to Washington next month to march for school safety and gun control reform. They’re asking that people who believe in this cause but can’t make it to DC to march in their own communities.
Here are 5 Things You Can Do to Make a Difference:
- Call your local school and inquire about the protocols that are in place in the case of a tragedy like this one. If they have one, just knowing will give you a small piece of mind. If they don’t have a have a protocol, encourage them to put one in place so children are prepared. In our schools, they say they are training in case an animal is in the school.
- Write your member of Congress: Contact your congressional representatives and ask them to act now on creating more sensible gun-control legislation. Demand it. Remind them that the midterm elections are less than nine months away, and explain you will remember this shooting—and all the ones that follow—when you’re in the voting booths this November.
- Give to GoFundMe: With a fundraising goal of $100,000, the nonprofit Broward Education Foundation has set up a victims’ fund via the crowdfunding site GoFundMe. The donations will go toward financial support and relief for victims and families, the foundation says. The campaign page is live.
- Have a teen that wants to make a difference? They can join Students Demand Action. They work alongside Moms Demand Action an organiztion similar to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, They seek to understand the causes of and reduce gun violence.
- Join the March For Our Lives. On March 24, the kids and families of will take to the streets of Washington, DC to demand that their lives and safety become a priority. The collective voices of the March For Our Lives movement will be heard.