Newsletter - November 18, 1999

Pledge count so far: 1, 622,112.

We know that the actual total is considerably more than that since many participating schools and/or districts have not reported.

Literally thousands of pledges are still being reported each day, so this newsletter will serve as a preliminary up-date on this year's Day of National Concern about Young People and Gun Violence. We will send a final report in December or early January.

First, congratulations to all of you who worked on Day of Concern and Student Pledge activities in your schools and communities! All the indicators, from the number of pledges reported to the variety of activities described, demonstrate that your creativity and planning fostered a greater awareness of the issue among young people, as well as a sense of power in being able to help bring about change. The feedback has been enthusiastic and positive, and letters and e-mails from teachers and young people themselves talk about the impact that the observance has had in their schools.

The following are just several examples of letters and e-mails that have been coming in:

"I am a guidance counselor in Brooklyn New York. [We] successfully completed a wonderful program on October 21st... We dedicated the entire day to bring our children passionate speakers that brought home the results of violence and encouraged this pledge against it. These speakers made children realize that they have a choice about how they live in this world and that the wrong choices can lead to tragedy and loss."

"This day was certainly the high point of my career. Students were deeply affected by this day and have written personal notes to the speakers telling them that their lives were changed because of their messages. My colleagues that worked together on this day all share in this feeling and are committed to continue this kind of work. We would like to know if you have a date for next year's pledge because we would like to work on getting a keynote speaker committed to the date… I also would appreciate any other recommendations you can give us to continue this work between now and then."

A high school student from Oklahoma wrote: "Our play, “Bang Bang You're Dead,” written by William Mastrosimone…came off wonderfully. Our assembly rocked and the students responded excellently. I'll be collecting pledges until Thursday" [She then talks about taking the play and the Student Pledge to other area schools] "Thanks again for all your great support."

"We received wonderful press from our local media in conjunction with the play and the pledges. Local TV news stations came to our performance and interviewed myself and students. Great news for young people!! Keep up the good work!"

Another student [who didn't say where she was writing from] wrote: "I would just like to tell you that I think that you're doing a great job trying to influence kids to stay violence-free and to stay away from weapons. I thank you so much for trying to make not just my school but all of the other schools in the district a better and safer place for kids to be."

An elementary-school student in L.A. wrote: "i am in the third grade and we would just like you to know that we are following the pledge and really agree with outcome afecting our community and world at large."

There has been a tremendous range in the kinds of activities reported, with some observances very somber and serious and others more in the nature of a pep rally, generating support and enthusiasm for the students' commitments. One Georgia high school brought both moods together by having everyone in the stands at half-time of a night football game light candles in memory of young people who had fallen to gun violence.

At a school in Florida, students who had signed the Pledge marched with banners while a sheriff's helicopter joined in with a fly-over, and a US Coast Guard boat [I'd assume that the school is on the water], and a firetruck joined the parade.

In Chicago, WBBM-96, a local rock music station, once again hosted an hour-long call-in show on the Day of Concern, with Mayor Daley, Police Superintendent Terry Hillard, the State Attorney, the Illinois Attorney General, School Superintendent Paul Vallas, US Senator Richard Durbin, and Chicago young people participating.

A Chicago elementary school, St. Mary Star of the Sea, culminated its day-long activities by having all of its students process from the school building around its city block as a symbolic way of taking their pledge commitments out into the world.

In Connecticut, public television stations facilitated interactive communication among young people involved in Day of Concern activities.

At Dunbar High School in Washington, DC, the Mayor of the District, the Chief of Police, the Superintendent of Schools, an Olympic-gold-medal women's basketball star, and others spoke and watched student skits. The US Postal Service set up a station at the high school, hand cancelling letters with a Pledge logo cancellation stamp.

In L.A. for the week preceding the Day of Concern, one high school hung a huge banner from one of its towers with the Pledge logo and the words, “I Pledge.” On the day following, they hung a new banner that proclaimed "I Pledged."

This year, we heard from more and more schools that were extending the awareness-building over several weeks. Many schools had displays of gun violence statistics, some of them placed in the middle of chalk outline silhouettes along school corridors. Art displays featuring Pledge hands on colored paper went up in many school hallways. We heard from several districts in different parts of the country in which students planted bulbs in memory of young people who had died from gunshot. Their blooming in the spring will reaffirm hope and commitment and offer yet another chance to keep the dialogue about violence prevention going.

These examples only begin to suggest the range and depth of the activities undertaken this year.

Many, many thanks to those of you who have sent clippings and pictures. Please keep them coming. I will include them in this year's scrapbook and in the final report to the Packard Foundation.

I would like to add a note of special appreciation to the Packard Foundation, whose concern for issues affecting young people includes the reduction of gun violence. Their support has made it possible to extend the reach of the Day of Concern and the Student Pledge Against Gun Violence to schools across the country.

We also owe a debt of thanks to Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Sen. John Warner (R-VA) for their leadership in shepherding the Resolution calling for the Day of Concern through the U. S. Senate.

People are asking already for the date of next year's Day of National Concern. I have heard from a number of people who would like for the observance to remain on the third Thursday of October. This would keep it within National School Safety Week and the Y's Week Without Violence. But there are at least two states whose teachers' conferences take place that week, which means that those states would have to be out of synch with the national observance. There may not be a way to avoid all conflicts for everyone, but we would like for the date to work in as many parts of the country as possible. Please let me hear from you if there are other considerations about date that we should take into account. We want to nail this down as soon as possible.

With all best wishes for your Thanksgiving holiday, and appreciation for all the work that so many of you have done and continue doing to help reduce gun violence,

Mary Lewis Grow
National Coordinator