Sandy Hook Promise, the nonprofit formed in 2013 in the aftermath of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, has been an impactful voice of advocacy for gun violence reform and school safety for over 10 years. In that decade, the org has especially become well known for its powerful PSAs — like one in which school shooting survivors recite the lyrics to Katy Perry’s song “Teenage Dream” — which have gone viral across social media, and even won an Emmy. On March 10, Sandy Hook Promise released its latest public service announcement on preventing gun violence in schools — and it’s a striking one.Â
The newest PSA, titled “A Teddy Bear’s Dream,” uses a teddy bear — a symbol of innocence and comfort, as well as a go-to object placed at memorials of school shootings — to emphasize that children shouldn’t have to suffer the consequences of school shootings. The video shows a little girl picking out a teddy bear in a store, and a montage of what their life might look like together: laughing, playing, and being inseparable. Only at the video’s end is it revealed that the teddy bear was not purchased to be the girl’s companion, but rather to be one of many placed outside a school where a shooting occurred to honor innocent lives lost. The last 30 seconds of the PSA shows images of teddy bears at memorials of real-life shootings, like Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida and Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas. According to a press release from Sandy Hook Promise, following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, more than 60,000 bears were sent to Newtown, Connecticut after a 20-year-old man shot and killed 20 children and 6 staff members.
“When I watched that PSA, I was like, wow, I need to do more. I want to do more,” says Massachusetts high school junior Arianna*, who has been involved in Sandy Hook Promise’s youth programs since she was in 8th grade. She currently serves as one of nine students on the nonprofit’s Youth Advisory Board. She tells Her Campus in an exclusive interview that while the PSA is hard to watch, it’s imperative to do so. “I think that it’s really important right now, especially to prevent these things from happening, to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. We shouldn’t be comfortable watching this even though it’s hard. We all know what a teddy bear is supposed to symbolize … innocence and love and childhood, not school shootings and not the death of little kids.”
Since its inception, Sandy Hook Promise has created numerous programs for parents, students, and teachers to engage in making their schools safer and recognizing the warning signs for school shootings. Its Know the Signs program and Say Something Anonymous Reporting System have played critical roles in thwarting credible planned school shooting attacks, with the most recent one in Florida being reportedly intercepted on the same day as the PSA’s release.
“Preventing school shootings and other acts of gun violence is possible when there’s the education to recognize warning signs and engage a trusted adult to help,” Nicole Hockley, who co-founded Sandy Hook Promise after losing her son Dylan in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, said in the press release about the new PSA. “Through our programs and resources, we are building a culture of care, cultivating the next generation of upstanders, and creating safer schools and communities for all children to thrive. We each have a role to play in preserving childhood innocence and ensuring a teddy bear stays just that —– an enduring symbol of childhood innocence and imagination.”Â
Beyond its programs to recognize and put a stop to violent threats, SHP also has programs for student advocates designed to foster community and fight isolation in their schools. The Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) Promise Club is a youth leadership initiative of Sandy Hook Promise that has over 5,000 chapters nationwide. As a long-time SAVE club member and now a member of the Youth Advisory Board, Arianna helps facilitate the club’s programming, has attended round tables at the White House, and has spoken to senators on Capitol Hill about gun violence reform.
Arianna says she hopes people feel mobilized after watching the PSA. “I’m hoping that this PSA and that these horrible events can continue to fuel us and continue to make us want to make a difference and see a different future.” She’s proud to be part of the generation demanding change and urges others to do the same: “Don’t give up,” she urges her fellow Gen Zers. “Keep elevating youth voices and keep working and keep pushing each other. Keep being there for each other. Keep watching these PSAs. Don’t stop and don’t slow down, especially when things seem like they’re going backwards. Just keep pushing forward, because if not us, then who?”
*Last name has been omitted to protect Arianna’s privacy.