Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement

Last updated
Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement
FormationJanuary 29, 2013;11 years ago (2013-01-29)
Type 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
PurposeThe Choose Love Movement was founded in honor of Sandy Hook victim/hero, Jesse Lewis, to spread his message of “Nurturing Healing Love"
Headquarters Sandy Hook, Connecticut, U.S.
Region
International
Founder & Chief Movement Officer
Scarlett Lewis
Website chooselovemovement.org

The Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that provides free Character Social Emotional Development (CSED) programs. [1] [2] [3] [4] Choose Love programming is being taught in over 10,000 schools, in all 50 states and over 120 countries, serving over 3 million children globally. [5] This is the only organization that offers free lifespan Character Social Emotional Development programming, with consistent messaging for parents and caregivers as well as for communities and businesses. [6] [7] [8]

Contents

History

The Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement was founded in 2013 in honor of Jesse McCord Lewis, a six-year-old killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012. [9] [10] Nine of Jesse's classmates survived by fleeing when Jesse told them to run. [11] [12] [13] Jesse's mother, Scarlett Lewis, set out to be part of the solution to violence and other "diseases of despair" that are escalating in schools, homes, and communities, and advocates for Social-emotional learning, character education, and mental health. [14]

Three days after Jesse's murder, Scarlett returned to the family's farmhouse and found a message on their kitchen chalkboard that Jesse had written shortly before he died: "Norurting Helinn Love" (Nurturing Healing Love). These three words are not in the vernacular of someone Jesse's age and were phonetically spelled because Jesse was still learning to write. These three words are the foundational values of the movement, with their individual meaning forming a formula for choosing love. "Nurturing" means loving, kindness and gratitude; "Healing" means forgiveness; and "Love" means compassion-in-action. [15]

Programs

In 2014, the Movement launched its Choose Love for Schools Program, a no-cost program for Pre-K through Grade 12 that provides lessons that delve into the Choose Love Formula to help educators and students create a safer, more connected school culture. This program, aligned with Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, Common Core, and American School Counselor Association standards and fully incorporating state-of-the-art Character Social Emotional Development Model Standards from Character.org, also includes neuroscience and positive psychology to teach mindfulness, character, and emotional intelligence. [16] Choose Love for Schools Program is now the most taught program in some states. [17] [18]

The Movement has multiple programs, including Choose Love for Home that brings the Choose Love Formula beyond the classroom to teach families how to manage their emotions, communicate in healthier ways, and grow together to form a more nurturing environment. Choose Love for Communities is a program for business owners, community leaders, law enforcement agencies and political leaders to be part of the solution and to thoughtfully respond to any thought, action, or circumstance with love. [19] [20] Choose Love for Athletic Leadership Development is a program for athletes and leaders to incorporate the Choose Love Formula in any sports program to build character and create positive relationships on and off the playing field. Choose Love at Work helps organizations build the skills and mindset to become a high-performance organization in a way that is fun, natural, and benefits the lives of employers and employees. The workshop teaches teams how to engage with purpose, high ethics, courage, gratitude, forgiveness, and compassion. [21]

In addition, the movement offers Choose Love C.A.R.E.S. (Cultivating Authentic Relationships in the Education System), Experiential Educator Wellness Workshops for school leaders and educators. [22] The workshops provide greater awareness around the benefits of Character Social Emotional Development (CSED) and ways to feel more confident and equipped to integrate essential CSED practices within the classroom to create a safe and loving environment. [23] Also, they cultivate positive, healthy mindsets, enhance personal well-being, and embrace Choose Love programming with ease to ultimately unite as a staff and better support the needs of students. [1] [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Jones</span> American radio host and conspiracy theorist (born 1974)

Alexander Emerick Jones is an American far-right radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts The Alex Jones Show from Austin, Texas, which is the longest-running online news and politics talk show, and was previously broadcast by the Genesis Communications Network across the United States via syndicated and internet radio. Jones's website, InfoWars, promotes conspiracy theories and fake news, as do his other websites, NewsWars and PrisonPlanet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brady Campaign</span> American nonprofit gun control organization

Brady: United Against Gun Violence is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control and against gun violence. It is named after former White House press secretary James "Jim" Brady, who was permanently disabled and later died in 2014 as a result of the Ronald Reagan assassination attempt of 1981, and his wife Sarah Brady, who was a chairwoman of the organization from 1989 until her death in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caitlin Ryan (Degrassi)</span> Fictional character from Degrassi franchise

Caitlin Ryan is a fictional character from the Degrassi teen drama franchise. Portrayed by Stacie Mistysyn, Caitlin is a main character on both Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, which chronicle her maturation from a seventh grader to a high school graduate. Mistysyn returned to play an adult Caitlin on Degrassi: The Next Generation, in which Caitlin was a recurring character. Mistysyn won a Gemini Award for her portrayal of the character in 1989.

Community art, also known as social art, community-engaged art, community-based art, and, rarely, dialogical art, is the practice of art based in—and generated in—a community setting. It is closely related to social practice and social turn. Works in this form can be of any media and are characterized by interaction or dialogue with the community. Professional artists may collaborate with communities which may not normally engage in the arts. The term was defined in the late 1960s as the practice grew in the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia. In Scandinavia, the term "community art" more often refers to contemporary art projects.

A copycat crime is a criminal act that is modeled after or inspired by a previous crime. It notably occurs after exposure to media content depicting said crimes, and/or a live criminal model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everytown for Gun Safety</span> United States gun control advocacy organization

Everytown for Gun Safety is an American non-profit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Everytown was formed in 2013 due to a merger between Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

Eric Schaps is an education researcher and founder of the Developmental Studies Center (DSC), a nonprofit educational R&D organization located in Oakland CA for most of its history. He established the nonprofit in 1980 and served as its president until his retirement in 2011. The organization subsequently changed its name to the Center for the Collaborative Classroom and relocated to Alameda CA.

Born This Way Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2012 by American artist and activist Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta. Named after the singer's 2011 album Born This Way, and the song with the same name the foundation is committed to supporting the wellness of young people and working with them to "make the world kinder and braver".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting</span> 2012 mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, US

On December 14, 2012, a mass shooting occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, United States. The perpetrator, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, shot and killed 26 people. 20 of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and the other six were adult staff members. Earlier that day, before driving to the school, Lanza fatally shot his mother at their Newtown home. As first responders arrived at the school, Lanza killed himself with a gunshot to the head.

Jesse Lewis may refer to:

The December 14, 2012, Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting—in which a gunman shot and killed his mother at home, 20 students, 6 teachers, then himself—received international attention. Governments and world leaders offered their condolences, while tributes and vigils by people were made in honor of the victims. U.S. President Barack Obama gave a televised address on the day of the shootings, saying, "We're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics." Obama paused twice during the address to compose himself and wipe away tears, and expressed "enormous sympathy for families that are affected". He also ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at the White House and other U.S. federal government facilities worldwide in respect for the victims. Three days after the massacre, 151,000 Americans had signed up at the Obama administration's We the People petitioning website in support of a renewed national debate on gun control. Obama attended and spoke at an interfaith vigil on December 16 in Newtown, Connecticut.

The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut. The perpetrator, Adam Lanza, fatally shot his mother before murdering 20 students and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and later committed suicide. A number of fringe figures have promoted conspiracy theories that doubt or dispute what occurred at Sandy Hook. Various conspiracy theorists have claimed, for example, that the massacre was actually orchestrated by the U.S. government as part of an elaborate plot to promote stricter gun control laws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crisis actor</span> Individual who portrays a disaster victim

A crisis actor is a trained actor, role player, volunteer, or other person engaged to portray a disaster victim during emergency drills to train first responders such as police, firefighters or EMS personnel. Crisis actors are used to create high-fidelity simulations of disasters in order to allow first responders to practice their skills and help emergency services to prepare and train in realistic scenarios as part of full-scale disaster exercises. The term has also been used by conspiracy theorists who claim that some mass shootings and other terror events are staged for the advancement of various political objectives.

Leonard Pozner is the father of a Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim, Noah Pozner. He is the founder of the HONR Network, a nonprofit organization that supports victims of mass violence who experience hate speech and harassment online.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HONR Network</span> American nonprofit organization founded in 2014 by Lenny Pozner

HONR Network is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was founded in 2014 by Lenny Pozner, the father of a six-year-old victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, in order to "bring awareness to hoaxer activity" and "prosecute those who wittingly and publicly defame, harass and emotionally abuse the victims of high-profile tragedies". Its efforts have led to significant policy changes at Facebook, WordPress, YouTube and other major online platforms to protect victims of harassment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JT Lewis</span> American school safety advocate

Joseph Theodore Lewis is an American school safety advocate. Lewis started Newtown Helps Rwanda, a charity that raised money for survivors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide as well as former child soldiers in Uganda. He previously was a candidate in the 2020 elections for Connecticut state senator for the 28th district, dropping out before the August primaries to work on a national campaign. He is the older brother of first grade student Jesse Lewis, a victim of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarlett Lewis</span> American activist

Scarlett Lewis is an American activist, educator, and author who founded the non-profit Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement after her son Jesse was murdered during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social–emotional learning</span> Education practice

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an educational method that aims to foster social and emotional skills within school curricula. SEL is also referred to as "social-emotional learning," "socio-emotional learning," or "social–emotional literacy." In common practice, SEL emphasizes social and emotional skills to the same degree as other subjects, such as math, science, and reading. Furthermore, SEL emphasizes an importance upon preparing students to become knowledgeable, responsible, and caring members of society when they reach adulthood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandy Hook Memorial</span> Memorial in Connecticut for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims

The Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial is a memorial in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, that honors the twenty children and six educators who were victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on the morning of December 14, 2012. The memorial is located at 28 Riverside Road in the woods adjacent to the reconstructed Sandy Hook Elementary School, built near the site of the original school that was razed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandy Hook Promise</span> Gun Violence Prevention organization

Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which was established in 2013 in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, in order to work for gun violence prevention programs and policy making. The main mission of Sandy Hook Promise is to educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes and communities.

References

  1. 1 2 "Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement" . Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  2. "Does the program include character education (CSED?)". Choose Love Movement. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  3. "Moran Company Seeking CEO for the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement". Hunt Scanlon Media. May 3, 2022.
  4. Fattal, Isabel (March 24, 2018). "My Life Since the 2012 Sandy Hook Shooting: Scarlett Lewis's Story". The Atlantic.
  5. "Embracing the "Choose Love" Movement". July 13, 2021. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  6. Silber, Alissa. "'There Is Hope': Scarlett Lewis's New Book Shines Light On Choose Love Movement's Global Impact". www.newtownbee.com.
  7. "Choose Love Movement / Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement". www.bentonvillek12.org.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. "Choose Love". Pearl Ridge Elementary School. Archived from the original on 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  9. Voytko, Lisette. "How Scarlett Lewis And Mothers Of Mass Shooting Victims Turn Their Anguish Into Action—And Save Lives". Forbes.
  10. "Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement, Inc. Profile". www.guidestar.org.
  11. "Little hero of Sandy Hook saved his pals". Associated Press. October 19, 2013.
  12. "Sandy Hook Student Killed After Telling Classmates to Run: Mom". 18 October 2013.
  13. Newtown Shooting Incident Connecticut State Police December 14, 2012
  14. "Meet the Mom Behind the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement! | Greenwich Moms". greenwichmoms.com. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  15. "9 years later: News 8 spends the day with mother of Sandy Hook victim, gets a look at what she's doing in son's memory". December 14, 2021.
  16. "Mom honoring Sandy Hook victim's legacy through 'Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement'". June 3, 2021.
  17. "Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement Reviews and Ratings | Newtown, CT | Donate, Volunteer, Review | GreatNonprofits". greatnonprofits.org.
  18. "From Tragedy to Hope". STRIVE Magazine. January 27, 2020.
  19. Clement, Douglas P. (19 November 2021). "Sandy Hook's Scarlett Lewis on spreading healing with her nonprofit org Choose Love". Connecticut Magazine.
  20. "'I still cry every day' | Mother of Sandy Hook victim reflects on eve of 9th anniversary of tragedy". fox61.com. December 13, 2021.
  21. Bird, Rachel. "Scarlett Lewis".
  22. Baker, KC (December 31, 2021). "Rolling with Life's Ups and Downs Can Prevent Bullying and School Shootings, Says Sandy Hook Mom". people.com.
  23. "Sandy Hook mother works to help kids and prevent violence with emotional education effort" via www.cbsnews.com.
  24. "How the power of 3 words changed this Sandy Hook mother's life". today.com. 14 December 2020.