Scarlett Lewis | |
|---|---|
 Lewis presenting in 2016 | |
| Born | 1967or1968(age 56–57) [1] |
| Occupation | Founder Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement |
| Children | 2, including JT Lewis |
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. [2]
On December 14, 2012, Lewis' youngest son Jesse was murdered during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, causing Lewis to become an advocate for Character Social-Emotional Development (CSED) programs. On January 29, 2013, she founded the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement to provide Character Social Emotional Development programs to schools and other organizations free of cost. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
Lewis explained her motivation for founding the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement in a 2018 interview with The Atlantic, saying, “I think the reason that we haven’t been able to solve the school-safety crisis is because we are not thinking in terms of actual solutions. The vast majority of solutions being discussed are not addressing the cause; they’re addressing the effect. The cause of what we’re seeing is anger, disconnection, isolation, lack of resilience, lack of ability to manage emotions.” [12]
Lewis has helped develop and promote her non-profit's programming to be provided for free to parents and educators. Their programs are now taught in over 10,000 schools, in all 50 states and in over 120 countries, serving over 3 million children annually. [13] Lewis has explained that the fundamental basis for their programming spawned from a message Jesse had left on a chalkboard at their home that phonetically spelled out the words of: Nurturing, Healing, Love. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]
Lewis's non-profit provides programming that can help educators and students "to choose love, handle adversity, and manage their emotions". [19] [20] Their programming is also extended into homes, communities, athletics, and the workplace. [21] Lewis is often asked by press to weigh in on topics of school shootings and their root causes. [22] [23] [24] [25]
Lewis is the author of Nurturing Healing Love: A Mother’s Journey of Hope & Forgiveness, a memoir of her journey toward choosing love and forgiveness; From Sandy Hook to the World: How the Choose Love Movement Transforms Lives, an in-depth explanation at how Lewis founded the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement and its impact around the world today; and Rose’s Foal, a children's book that tells the story of a horse and her newborn foal. [26] [27] [28]
Lewis was a 2021 Forbes "50 Over 50 Impact" honoree. [1] [29]
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.
On October 2, 2006, a shooting occurred at the West Nickel Mines School, an Amish one-room schoolhouse in the Old Order Amish community of Nickel Mines, a village in Bart Township, Pennsylvania. Gunman Charles Carl Roberts IV took hostages and shot ten girls, killing six, before committing suicide in the schoolhouse. The emphasis on forgiveness and reconciliation in the Amish community's response was widely discussed by the national media. The West Nickel Mines School was later demolished, and a new one-room schoolhouse, the New Hope School, was built at another location.
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.
Amish Grace is a television film that premiered on the Lifetime Movie Network on Palm Sunday, March 28, 2010. The film is based on the 2006 West Nickel Mines School shooting at Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, and the spirit of forgiveness the Amish community demonstrated in its aftermath.
The Power of Forgiveness is a 2008 documentary film by Martin Doblmeier about the process of forgiveness. It features interviews with renowned Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, best-selling authors Thomas Moore and Marianne Williamson and others.
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.
Newtown Public Schools is a school district in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of 2013 it contained seven schools, with a total enrollment of 5298, an increase of 1663 since 1994. It comprises 2.64% of Fairfield County. Teachers in the school district are paid more than average for the area, which has in the past led to complaints from neighboring districts of staff being poached from them.
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.
Ben's Bells is a Tucson, Arizona-originated program that aims to promote kindness throughout the local community and world through the creation and distribution of handmade bells. Its mission is to “inspire, educate, and motivate people to realize the impact of intentional kindness, and to empower individuals to act according to that awareness, thereby strengthening ourselves, our relationships, and our communities”. Ben's Bells was founded in 2003 by Jeannette Maré after the death of her three-year-old son and has grown to become a worldwide coping mechanism for the expression of love and support.
Jahana Hayes is an American educator and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Connecticut's 5th congressional district since 2019. The district, once represented by U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, comprises much of the state's northwestern portion, including New Britain, Danbury, and Waterbury. A member of the Democratic Party, Hayes is the first Black woman and Black Democrat to represent Connecticut in Congress. She was recognized as the National Teacher of the Year in 2016.
Susan Francis Klebold is an American activist and author whose son, Dylan Bennet Klebold, was one of the perpetrators of the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. After the massacre, she wrote A Mother's Reckoning, a book about the signs and possible motives she missed of Dylan's mental state.
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.
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.
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. 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. 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.
The Uvalde school shooting was a mass shooting on May 24, 2022, at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, United States, where 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, a former student at the school, fatally shot 19 students and 2 teachers, while injuring 17 others.
The Luke and Alex School Safety Act of 2021 is a United States bill introduced in the 117th Congress on 28 January 2021 by Republican Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) and co-sponsored by Senators Marco Rubio, Rick Scott, James Risch, and Chuck Grassley, as a measure to improve school safety and help prevent mass shootings. The corresponding House bill is H.R.750, introduced 3 February 2021 by representative Mario Díaz-Balart.
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 new Sandy Hook Elementary School, built near the site of the original school that was razed.
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.