Sandy Hook Promise

{{Infobox organization

| name = Sandy Hook Promise

| formation = {{start date and age|2013}}

| logo = Sandy_Hook_Promise_logo.svg

| type = 501(c)(3) 501(c)(4)

| founded_date = 2013

| founder = Nicole Hockley
Mark Barden

| location = 13 Church Hill Road Newtown, Connecticut 06470, United States

| area_served = United States

| key_people = Bill Sherlach{{Cite web|url=https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/461657101|title=Charity Navigator - Historical Ratings for Sandy Hook Promise}}

| revenue = $14,923,966

| num_volunteers = 16,000

| num_employees = 118

| num_members = 9,100,000

| homepage = {{URL|https://www.sandyhookpromise.org/}}

| dissolved =

| footnotes =

}}

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.

History

In 2013, one month after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School,{{cite web |url=https://www.today.com/parents/sandy-hook-mom-shootings-changed-how-we-feel-about-going-1d80113380 |title=Sandy Hook mom: Shootings changed how we feel about going back to school |last=Hockley |first=Nicole |date=August 29, 2014 |website=Today |access-date=August 18, 2023}} family members launched Sandy Hook Promise at a news conference in Newtown, Connecticut.{{Cite web |last1=Ave |first1=1775 Massachusetts |last2=NW |last3=Washington |last4=Dc 20036 |title=The promise: The families of Sandy Hook and the long road to gun safety |url=https://www.brookings.edu/essay/the-promise-the-families-of-sandy-hook-and-the-long-road-to-gun-safety/ |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=The Brookings Institution |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Keierleber |first=Mark |date=2022-12-02 |title=They Lost Their Kids at Sandy Hook 10 Years Ago. Their Fight Is for Life. |url=https://www.thetrace.org/2022/12/sandy-hook-shooting-politics-anniversary/ |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=The Trace |language=en-us}} The founding members of SHP were Nicole Hockley and Mark Barden who both were directly affected by losing their children in the shooting.{{cite web | url=https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Newtown-s-Sandy-Hook-Promise-marks-10-years-17716625.php | title=The Sandy Hook Promise, marking its 10th anniversary, 'saves lives every day' with its programs | date=January 14, 2023 }}{{Cite web |last1=Hein |first1=Rachel |last2=Shubailat |first2=Nadine |last3=Pereira |first3=Ivan |title=Sandy Hook parents reflect on 10th anniversary of mass shooting, work to curb gun violence |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/sandy-hook-parents-reflect-10th-anniversary-mass-shooting/story?id=94718978 |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=ABC News |language=en}} They each lost a son, ages 6 and 7, respectively.

Organization

SHP is governed by the Board of Directors which currently consists of 14 members. There are over 100 employees that work nationwide to advocate for the organization (2023). There is a Board of Advisors, Youth Advisory Board (YAB) and a School Advisory Committee. Additionally there are two councils; the Leadership Council has active philanthropists which are actively giving and providing for the organization. The Young Leaders Council was created to fundraise and create awareness.

Program Overview

According to SHP's website they advocate with the following motto:

{{Blockquote|text=Educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes, and communities|author=Sandy Hook Promise (SHP)}}

The organization provides programs to teach the warning signs of violence and how to get help to intervene from an adult or anonymous reporting system. The group’s policy arm, Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund, advocates for bipartisan gun safety, mental health and violence prevention. Further it has been reviewed by the charity assessment organization Charity Navigator and has received a 4-star rating.{{Cite web |title=Charity Navigator - Rating for Sandy Hook Promise Foundation |url=https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/461657101 |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=www.charitynavigator.org}} There are several programs offered by the organization;

= School Safety =

The 501c3 Foundation of Sandy Hook Promise provides violence prevention and school safety programs{{cite web |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2022/0527/Sandy-Hook-Promise-School-shootings-don-t-have-to-be-inevitable |title=Sandy Hook Promise: School shootings don't have to be inevitable |last=Sheasley |first=Chelsea |date=May 27, 2022 |website=Christian Science Monitor |access-date=August 18, 2023}} to schools and youth-serving organizations in the United States. These include Say Something{{cite web |url=https://www.dpi.nc.gov/districts-schools/district-operations/center-safer-schools/say-something-anonymous-reporting-system |title=Say Something Anonymous Reporting System |website=North Carolina Department of Public Instruction |access-date=August 18, 2023}} and an accompanying anonymous reporting system.

= Social Inclusion =

Sandy Hook Promise provides an anti-bullying and social inclusion program to schools and youth-serving organizations in the United States. The program is entitled Start With Hello.{{cite web |url=https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-hillsborough/tampa-bay-students-spread-kindness-during-start-with-hello-week |title=Tampa Bay students spread kindness during 'Start With Hello' week |last=O'Connell |first=Mary |date=September 20, 2022 |website=ABC Action News |access-date=August 18, 2023}}

= Youth Leadership Development =

Sandy Hook Promise provides support for school culture change and youth leadership development to schools and youth-serving organization in the United States. With a model similar to Students Against Drunk Driving, SAVE Promise Clubs are student-led organizations within elementary, middle, and high schools focused on fostering social inclusion and preventing violence.{{cite web |url=https://www.lionnewspaper.com/pulse/2023/03/22/save-promise-club-aims-to-prevent-violence-in-schools/ |title=SAVE Promise Club aims to prevent violence in schools |last=Pohl |first=Reagan |date=March 22, 2023 |website=Lion Online |access-date=August 18, 2023}}

= Research =

Sandy Hook Promise partners with the University of Michigan to continually evaluate the “Know the Signs” programs, Start With Hello and Say Something, to maximize effectiveness in achieving cultural change that will have a long-term impact on school safety and student well-being. The programs are backed by comprehensive research by the Department of Homeland Security / Secret Service studies on mass shootings and targeted school violence.

Issues

= Background checks on gun sales =

The Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund advocates for the expansion of background checks before a firearm purchase to help identify people who are prohibited by federal law from owning guns.{{cite web |url=https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/03/24/gun-control-sandy-hook-parent |title=Sandy Hook Parent And Advocate On Frustrations, Obstacles Toward Gun Control Reform |date=March 24, 2021 |website=WBUR.org |access-date=August 18, 2023}} Since the federal background check requirement was enacted in 1994, more than 3 million illegal gun sales have been stopped by a background check.{{cite web |url=https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/bcft15st.pdf |title=Background Checks for Firearm Transfers, 2015 - Statistical Tables |date=November 2017 |website=U.S. Department of Justice - Office of Justice Programs |access-date=August 18, 2023}}

= Semi-automatic rifles =

The Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund advocates for the Assault Weapons Ban Act which includes several provisions to limit access to certain semi-automatic rifles.{{cite web |url=https://ctmirror.org/2022/09/22/sandy-hook-survivors-call-on-senate-to-pass-assault-weapons-ban-chris-murphy-uvalde/ |title=Sandy Hook survivors call on Senate to pass assault weapons ban |last=Hagen |first=Lisa |date=September 22, 2022 |website=Connecticut Mirror |access-date=August 18, 2023}}

= Magazine-capacity limits =

The Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund advocates for limits on high-capacity magazines, which allow firearms to be discharged repeatedly without reloading.{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/want-save-lives-mass-shootings-ban-large-capacity-magazines-researchers-n1066551 |title=Want to save lives in mass shootings? Ban large-capacity magazines, researchers say |last=Siemaszko |first=Corkey |date=October 17, 2019 |website=NBC News |access-date=August 18, 2023}}

= Temporary Transfer of Firearms =

The Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund advocates for policies that enable temporary transfer of firearms. Also known as extreme risk protection orders or red flag laws, they empower family members and law enforcement to prevent gun violence and gun-related suicides by petitioning a court to temporarily separate an at-risk individual from firearms.

= Secure Storage of Firearms =

The Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund advocates for the safe and secure storage of firearms.{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gun-safety-laws-storage/ |title=Victims' families push for more gun safety laws: "The gun could have been stored in the time it takes you to take one breath" |date=January 11, 2022 |website=CBS News |access-date=August 18, 2023}} According to a study conducted by researchers from Harvard, Columbia and Northeastern universities, an estimated 4.6 million children in the United States live in a home in which at least one firearm was stored both loaded and unlocked.{{cite journal |title=Firearm Storage in Gun-Owning Households with Children: Results of a 2015 National Survey |date=May 10, 2018 |pmc=5993703 |last1=Azrael |first1=D. |last2=Cohen |first2=J. |last3=Salhi |first3=C. |last4=Miller |first4=M. |journal=Journal of Urban Health |volume=95 |issue=3 |pages=295–304 |doi=10.1007/s11524-018-0261-7 |pmid=29748766 }}

References

{{cite web | url=http://csweb.brookings.edu/content/research/essays/2013/sandy-hook-promise-gun-safety.html#/ | title=The promise: The families of Sandy Hook and the long road to gun safety }}
{{cite web | url=https://www.guidestar.org/profile/46-1657101 | title=SANDY HOOK PROMISE FOUNDATION - GuideStar Profile }}
{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Tovia |date=2018-12-14 |title='It's Preventable': Sandy Hook Parents Promote App For Reporting School Threats |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/12/14/676375851/it-s-preventable-sandy-hook-parents-promote-app-for-reporting-school-threats}}
{{cite web | url=https://www.today.com/parents/sandy-hook-mom-shootings-changed-how-we-feel-about-going-1d80113380 | title=Sandy Hook mom: Shootings changed how we feel about back-to-school | date=August 29, 2014 }}
{{cite news |last1=Sheasley |first1=Chelsea |title=Sandy Hook Promise: School shootings don’t have to be inevitable |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2022/0527/Sandy-Hook-Promise-School-shootings-don-t-have-to-be-inevitable |access-date=26 September 2024 |publisher=CS Monitor |date=1 June 2022}}
{{cite web | url=https://www.dpi.nc.gov/districts-schools/district-operations/center-safer-schools/say-something-anonymous-reporting-system | title=Say Something Anonymous Reporting System | NC DPI }}
{{cite web | url=https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-hillsborough/tampa-bay-students-spread-kindness-during-start-with-hello-week | title=Tampa Bay students spread kindness during 'Start with Hello' week | date=September 20, 2022 }}
{{cite journal | pmc=5993703 | year=2018 | last1=Azrael | first1=D. | last2=Cohen | first2=J. | last3=Salhi | first3=C. | last4=Miller | first4=M. | title=Firearm Storage in Gun-Owning Households with Children: Results of a 2015 National Survey | journal=Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine | volume=95 | issue=3 | pages=295–304 | doi=10.1007/s11524-018-0261-7 | pmid=29748766 }}
{{cite web | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gun-safety-laws-storage/ | title=Victims' families push for more gun safety laws: "The gun could have been stored in the time it takes you to take one breath" - CBS News | website=CBS News | date=January 11, 2022 }}
{{cite web | url=https://www.lionnewspaper.com/pulse/2023/03/22/save-promise-club-aims-to-prevent-violence-in-schools/ | title=SAVE Promise Club aims to prevent violence in schools }}
{{cite web | url=https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/03/24/gun-control-sandy-hook-parent | title=Sandy Hook Parent and Advocate on Frustrations, Obstacles Toward Gun Control Reform }}
{{Cite report |url=https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/bcft15st.pdf |title=Background Checks for Firearm Transfers, 2015 - Statistical Tables |publisher=Bureau of Justice Statistics |publication-date=November 2017 |id=NCJ 250978}}
{{cite web | url=https://ctmirror.org/2022/09/22/sandy-hook-survivors-call-on-senate-to-pass-assault-weapons-ban-chris-murphy-uvalde/ | title=Sandy Hook survivors call on Senate to pass assault weapons ban | date=September 22, 2022 }}
{{cite web | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/want-save-lives-mass-shootings-ban-large-capacity-magazines-researchers-n1066551 | title=Want to save lives in mass shootings? Ban large-capacity magazines, researchers say | website=NBC News | date=October 17, 2019 }}