A MESSAGE FROM Kaitlyn's Fundraising Page
I'm running it back for Sandy Hook Promise for the NYC Marathon! Join me in protecting America’s children from gun violence in honor of the precious lives that were taken in the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
I ran my first marathon for SHP in 2023 and you helped me raise thousands of dollars. This year, I want to make that look like a drop in the bucket. Please do what you can to support this important, effective cause to help end gun violence. The folks doing the daily education and advocacy work are the best of us.
The facts:
• Firearms are the leading cause of death for American children and teens — nearly 2,500 children and teens die by gun homicide every year.
• As of July, the Gun Violence Archive has counted at least 224 mass shootings in the United States this year, and 7,704 gun deaths.
These numbers are a policy choice — that we do not have to make.
Why I'm running:
Gun violence impacted me directly as a freshman at UC Santa Barbara in 2014, when a gunman killed 6 of my neighbors and classmates in Isla Vista. Though that was more than 10 years ago, I'm part of the growing list of Americans who must relive the experience every time there is gun violence in the news — which is, unfortunately, very often.
I think about those 6 individuals a lot, and about their families and loved ones who must wake up every morning with the horrific reality that their child, sibling, or friend was taken from them in a way that could have been prevented. And then I think about the hundreds of other families every year who must do the same.
It's exhausting to turn on the news every time a shooting happens and hear lawmakers dwell on the obstacles to solutions, when there is so much we can do.
There are creative people out there doing the research, and implementing systems that actually WORK. Which is why I'm running for Sandy Hook Promise.
The cause:
• 26.5 million individuals participated in the "know the signs" education program
• At least 16 credible planned school shooting attacks stopped
• 285+ acts of violence with a weapon stopped
• At least 686 lives saved from suicide
• 268,000+ tips submitted through the "Say Something" anonymous reporting system
*** I will dedicate each of my 26 miles to one of the 26 victims whose lives were cut short at Sandy Hook Elementary in honor of donors who contribute $100 or more. ***
