In 2018, we witnessed a movement where students said ENOUGH gun violence.
With your support, they marched for their lives in Boston; they lobbied and hosted town halls with MA elected officials, and they walked 50 miles from Worcester to Springfield. As a result, real change happened. Retailers like Dick’s Sporting Goods, LLBean and Levi’s took a stand to support gun violence prevention. Extreme Risk Protection Order Laws passed in eight states, including Massachusetts. With their communities’ support, young people voted in a record turnout at the mid-term elections. All this action without any structured training on advocacy for gun violence prevention (GVP)!
At Stop Handgun Violence, we strive to continue empowering student leaders to be smarter when advocating for gun law reform. We started with an Advocacy Toolkit last Spring. This year, we are proud to partner with March For Our Lives:Boston to sponsor a GVP conference inviting student activists from all six New England states. YOU can help to make this a worthy educational investment in our young leaders who want to remain active in the cause. To quote from Vikiana, one of our recognized student leaders, “We are not the future. We are the present.”
Know a student who should attend from Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island or Maine? Have them sign up here.
We know you believe in these young activists, too. Our budgeted conference cost for meals and materials is $75/student. You can directly help by sponsoring a student today. You can give them a learning opportunity on how to continue to take action to end gun violence not just for their future, but for today.