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Acts of Kindness for Newtown: Be Kind. Love all.
At ICHH, we are steadfast in our commitment to creating a kinder, safer world. In remembrance of those lost on December 14, 2012, we plan to accomplish as many acts of kindness we can fit into a week, and we encourage you to join us. From Sunday, December 8 – Saturday, December 14, perform acts of kindness every chance you get. Your act could be small and meaningful or grand and inspiring: giving a kind note, holding someone’s door open for them, buying someone’s coffee or lunch, volunteering in your community, helping a friend move, organizing a flash mob, providing warm clothing to homeless shelters, rearranging your schedule to accommodate someone else’s needs, babysitting for a friend who needs a night out, baking cookies for your neighbor, smiling at a stranger, giving gifts to children in need, or just listening if someone you know is really struggling.
Inspire others to get involved by sharing your acts here on our Event page, or on our Facebook and Twitter pages. If you would like your act to be anonymous, email it to canhappenhere@gmail.com and we will share it without your name. Join us as we remember, and help us spread a little kindness and make the world a better place. Be kind. Love all.
http://www.itcanhappenhere.org
Honor and Act: ICHH remembers Newtown
Six months ago our nation and countless lives were shattered by the horrible tragedy and horrific massacre in Newtown, CT. Twenty-eight people lost their lives that day in senseless violence. The headlines of that day and the piercing pain of so many innocent children killed in a place that was supposed to safe, supposed to be full of hope and promise for the future touched many of us in profound ways.
For many of us, who had previously been on the sidelines of political advocacy or social justice work, it was a wake up call that we need to be a part of a solution – part of ensuring that tragedies like that do not happen again. The terrible realities of December 14, 2013 made us realize that there is an epidemic of violence in our nation. The reality of gun violence, the pain of losing a loved one to gun violence is something thousands in America, particularly in our cities, know all too well. And despite that wake up call, despite many efforts, not much has changed in six months. In fact in the six months since December 14, nearly 5,000 people have died as a result of gun violence in America. That is far too many.
And gun violence is only one form of violence. We – concerned citizens – have an obligation to transform the culture of violence. That is the work that It Could Happen Here, our ICHH Faith Coalition, and our other volunteers seeks to do:
“It Can Happen Here is a volunteer-based movement committed to reducing violence in our country by inspiring others to take action in their own hometowns and on the national level in the areas of bullying, education, gun safety, mental health care, parenting and poverty.”
The issue of violence is much larger than any single event or single individual. The only way we can transform the future is by working together. We hope you will join us!
For more information on how you can be a part of change, visit our website.
PRESS RELEASE: “It Can Happen Here” launches new national photo campaign
For Immediate Release
Contact: Melissa Antal,
Founder, Executive Director
It Can Happen Here
canhappenhere@gmail.com
407-451-8617
June 13, 2013
“It Can Happen Here” launches new national photo campaign
The violence prevention group, It Can Happen Here (ICHH; formerly “Preventing Newtown”), launched a new national photo campaign on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 via their Facebook and Twitter pages. The campaign encourages others to snap photographs of themselves holding a printed or hand-written sign that reads “It Can Happen Here – Stand Against Violence.” The photographs can then be uploaded to It Can Happen Here’s Facebook and Twitter pages, and sent to legislators.
Campaign participants can pose anywhere, signifying that violence can happen anywhere: their home, their children’s school, a workplace, the local mall, a place of worship, a college or university, the movie theater, in front of their town sign – anywhere. Melissa Antal, the Founder and Executive Director of It Can Happen Here, kicked off the campaign, as well as Board Members, including Gun Owners for Gun Laws Founder and ICHH Board Member, Gary Denton; and Mary Kay Mace, who lost her daughter, Ryanne, to gun violence in 2008. Volunteers of the organization and the leader of the It Can Happen Here Faith Coalition, Molly James, also participated in the campaign launch.
Once participants share their photographs on the It Can Happen Here social media site, they are encouraged to email their photographs to their legislators, encouraging them to take action to prevent violence by standing up for smart gun laws, anti-bullying initiatives, improvements to our education system, increased funding for mental healthcare, parenting support and poverty programs.
It Can Happen Here describes itself as a volunteer-based movement committed to reducing violence in our country by inspiring others to take action, in their own hometowns and on the national level, in the areas of bullying, education, gun safety, mental healthcare, parenting, and poverty.
Melissa Antal, ICHH founder, created the group after the December 14, 2012 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary. The goal of ICHH is to encourage as many people as possible to join the national dialogue on violence prevention, and motivate them to stand against violence in their own communities. The group realizes that gun laws, while necessary, will not solve the issue of gun violence on their own; hence, the additional focus areas of bullying, education, mental health, parenting, and poverty.
To participate in the ICHH Photo Campaign, visit: http://itcanhappenhere.org/2013/06/11/new-photo-campaign-it-can-happen-here/.
To learn more about It Can Happen Here, visit http://www.itcanhappenhere.org.
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NEW PHOTO CAMPAIGN: It CAN Happen Here!
Tell the world it is time to stand against violence,
because it can happen here!
ICHH Board Members and Volunteers Stand Against Violence
Our board members are often asked the meaning of “It Can Happen Here,” so we decided to start a photo campaign to answer that question. And we’re asking for your help!
Snap a picture of yourself holding a sign that says “It Can Happen Here – Stand Against Violence” and post it on our Facebook or Twitter page. Then, using our convenient contact tools, send it to your local legislators demanding action to prevent gun violence.
It’s easy!
1) Print out this image, or make one yourself that reads “It Can Happen Here – Stand Against Violence.” You could make your own poster, use a chalkboard, draw on the sidewalk with chalk, or on a window with wipe board markers! We can’t wait to see what you come up with! (IMPORTANT: On your print menu, set the Print Layout to Landscape and set it to print in color before printing.)
2) Snap a photo of yourself with your sign: in your home, in front of your school, at your university, at your place of work, in front of your town sign, or in any public place in your community.
3) Post your photo to our Facebook page or tweet it to us @CanHappenHere.
4) Tell your legislator you are taking a stand against violence! Send them your picture with a note that says:
Stand with me against violence! Please support violence prevention by standing up for smart gun laws, anti-bullying initiatives, improvements to our education system, increased funding for mental healthcare, parenting support and poverty programs.
Find your legislator’s contact info on our Act page or by visiting our Contact Senators or our Contact House pages. Just search for your state in each list. Feel free to email us with questions at canhappenhere@gmail.com!
Most of all—have fun and show us your creativity! Now get to it. We can’t wait to see your photos!
Thank you for standing with us!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: “It Can Happen Here” takes a stand against violence (Press Release)
For Immediate Release
May 17, 2013
Contact: Melissa Antal
canhappenhere@gmail.com
“It Can Happen Here” takes a stand against violence
The violence prevention group, “It Can Happen Here” (formerly “Preventing Newtown”) held a launch event on Friday, May 17, 2013 to unveil its new logo, website, Board of Directors, and social media sites. ICHH describes itself as a volunteer-based movement committed to reducing violence in our country by inspiring others to take action, in their own hometowns and on the national level, in the areas of bullying, education, gun safety, mental healthcare, parenting, and poverty.
Melissa Antal, ICHH founder, created the group after the December 14, 2012 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary. Antal, a mother of two young children, explains what motivated her to take action: “The day I learned about what happened in Newtown, I sat in the car line at my son’s Elementary School and sobbed. I spoke to the principal and teacher, but still felt tremendous fear and dread when I had to drop him back at school the following Monday. I was not dropping him off on the front lines in Iraq. I was dropping him off at his Elementary School, a place that should be a safe haven for him and his fellow students. I knew then I had to do something.” Over the next few days, after researching existing organizations, Antal says she noticed what was missing: “one place where people who want to take action on the many components of violence, not just legislation, can view up-to-date calls to action; a place where we could honor those lost, give to those who can help prevent another tragedy, educate ourselves about relevant issues and find resources committed to reducing violence in our country. So, Preventing Newtown was born.” The group’s name was changed as it grew, and to honor requests from Newtown parents, who support the group’s mission.
The goal of ICHH is to encourage as many people as possible to join the national dialogue on gun violence prevention, and motivate them to stand against violence in their own communities. The group realizes that gun laws, while necessary, will not solve the issue of gun violence on their own; hence, the additional focus areas of bullying, education, mental health, parenting, and poverty. Antal explains that this is why she decided to form a Board of Directors, to include expertise and perspectives from each of these focus areas in the group’s mission. Parents whose lives have been directly affected by gun violence have also taken an active role in the group, either as board members or advisors to the board: a mother who lost her daughter in the Northern Illinois University shooting in 2008, and a father whose daughter was shot and paralyzed in the Columbine massacre. The ICHH Board has also created a Teen Coalition and Faith Coalition, and has an ever-growing team of volunteers who stand ready to provide additional research support on existing legislation related to any of the group’s focus areas. ICHH has also partnered with “Gun Owners for Gun Laws,” a group on Facebook whose name says it all. Antal looks forward to working with other violence prevention groups “committed to creating a safer nation, so that we may present a unified front and make an even bigger impact on the rate of violence in our country.”
“This is a new journey for most of us, and honestly, we are figuring it out as we go along,” Antal says. “But, we have a passionate group of volunteers ready to make a difference in this country and we are in it for the long haul.”
To find out how you can get involved, visit http://www.itcanhappenhere.org.
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GUEST POST: “Just Do Something!” by Josh Harris
“We are not going to agree on everything, and most people whether pro-gun or pro-restriction believe that we have a problem when nearly 12,000 Americans die from gun fire in the US every year.”
“We have been having these discussions for awhile now and a couple of things have become quite obvious; we are not going to agree on everything, and most people whether pro-gun or pro-restriction believe that we have a problem when nearly 12,000 Americans die from gun fire in the US every year. We rarely agree on what that problem is or what is needed to fix the problem.
I have heard arguments from the pro-gun side including poor mental health care, lack of enforcement of current laws, media glorification of tragedies and violence in general, lack of religious beliefs, and many others ranging form reasonable to fantastical.
All this has lead me to a couple of conclusions: 1) This is a huge and complex issue that will not be completely solved simply with firearms laws, and 2) we all need todo SOMETHING to affect the change we wish to see.
So, this is my plea to action:
You may have very valid and important ideas on what the problems we face are. So if you believe that mental health care is the biggest problem ACT; call or write your reps and ask why they continue to cut funding to treatment for mental health problems, ask them to enact laws that ensure that (especially young people) have access to the counseling and medication that 
might help them, Donate to charities that support those with mental health issues, volunteer your time to helping others. If you believe that lack of enforcement is the main cause of our problems ask your reps to strengthen our current laws, and provide law enforcement with the tools needed to make enforcement possible. If you believe that media glorification is the main problem turn OFF the news, movies, music or whatever that is propagating violence, and don’t buy products from advertisers that support these programs. If you think that lack of religious beliefs is the problems PRAY, pray that you treat others with the kindness and respect that your higher power extends to you and that your example carries on to others.
JUST DO SOMETHING! If you see a problem and do nothing to change it: You ARE part of the problem. If you see a problem and all you want to do is argue with those who see things differently than you really have no point. If you want others to value your opinion then back it with action and let others know what you are doing to solve the problem, as you see, it so that they too might be able to address these issues.”
–Josh Harris
Read more posts by Josh here.
Disclaimer: We welcome Guest Posts in order to expand the conversation on how we can prevent tragedies like Newtown by addressing the following areas: bullying, education, gun safety, mental healthcare, parenting and poverty. The opinions and views expressed in Guest Posts are those of the writer and may not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of It Can Happen Here, our Board of Directors, or our volunteers.
Volunteering Together as a Family
“Deciding to get involved in your community is easy, but finding a cause that appeals to every member of your family may not be. Choosing where to volunteer often takes a lot of thoughtful consideration and legwork, and it is important that each family member feels he or she has helped make the choice so that everyone will feel committed to the cause and the overall experience.”
Where I Stand « Preventing Newtown
“I, for one, am done talking. I may be only one person, but if I do nothing again, I may as well pull the trigger myself. Stop talking. Stand up. ACT. Do something. ANYTHING. Because anything is better than 26 dead, 20 of them under the age of 8.”
Gun Control | 1MM4GC | Moms Demand Action | Gun-control group to rally in Jersey City park
Another great opportunity to stand up for peace! “Next Saturday’s rally in Jersey City will coincide with others set for Washington, D.C., Boston and elsewhere. The rally is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 26 at 11 a.m. at Lincoln Park, West Side and Belmont avenues in Jersey City.”
via Gun Control | 1MM4GC | Moms Demand Action | Gun-control group to rally in Jersey City park.
Why I am marching for gun control – The Washington Post
“I am not a mother. I am not a teacher. I am not a policy person. I am not a safety expert. But none of that matters. I had to act.”
via Why I am marching for gun control – The Washington Post.
WANTED: Partners And Volunteers Ready To Stand Up For PEACE
Will you help us spread the word about Preventing Newtown? Our mission is simple: reduce violence in our country by inspiring others to take action, in their own hometowns and on the national level, in the areas of mental healthcare, gun control, bullying, education, poverty and parenting.
Stand With Us
Organizations
We envision a movement in each of the areas listed above, powered by concerned citizens, experts and those most affected by each issue. To achieve this, we desire to partner with other organizations who share our mission to reduce violence. Specifically, organizations in the areas of our mission: bullying, mental healthcare, education, poverty, gun control, parenting and the like. Examples include: anti-bullying groups, organizations committed to eradicating poverty, organizations committed to enacting and enforcing common sense gun control legislation, parenting support groups and more. Please contact us so we may discuss how we can stand together for peace.
Volunteers
We are exclusively volunteer-driven and with a mission as far-reaching as ours, we need people who are just as passionate as we are about reducing violence and as committed to exacting change in areas that will make the most difference. Read Stand With Us and then let us know what areas you are interested in helping with: writing, research, promotion, ideas, social marketing, or another area.
If you are more passionate about one issue than another, your participation may be focused solely on those areas you feel more inclined to help. Volunteers shall remain anonymous, unless they choose to promote what they up to with Preventing Newtown.
We are a non-partisan group, complete with Democrats, Republicans, Independents and everything in between. We stand together because we know preventing violence should be everyone’s mission, regardless of political affiliation. We also know that to be truly successful in our goals to reduce violence in our country, we must stand up as one and work for it. Join us today!
Preventing Newtown is a volunteer-based movement committed to reducing violence in our country by inspiring others to take action, in their own hometowns and on the national level, in the areas of mental healthcare, gun control, bullying, education, poverty and parenting.
GUEST POST: A Mom Stands Up for Peace: “We can do something to fix things in this country. We MUST do all we can.”
Note: The author of this letter has opted to remain anonymous, in light of the controversial issue of gun control and the often disturbing threats made from those opposed to common sense legislation. She is a volunteer citizen, working on the March on Washington for Gun Control. The March is co-sponsored by One Million Moms for Gun Control http://onemillionmomsforguncontrol.org/. The Facebook page can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/GunCtrlMarch and the link to RSVP to the March is under EVENTS. Here is the link to the March Event page: www.facebook.com/events/137737953049890/.
“We can do something to fix things in this country.
We MUST do all we can.”
As a new mother, former teacher, and a theatre artist who spent years trying to make sense of the Columbine tragedy through work on a play about the shootings, Newtown left me heartbroken. I cannot think about it without crying for the unspeakable loss that will forever haunt those parents, that community, and our country. I felt I had to do something. Even if what I did was only a far-away ripple, a limited, barely palpable energy that might somehow soothe the devastation we all felt. I know I cannot touch the pain the victims’ families feel. I wish I could. I really, really do. But I can’t. All I can do is work for some kind of change. Like many of you, I made a promise to myself to do all I can to make those changes happen.
And then a friend, the artistic director of a wonderful theatre here in DC, Molly Smith, began to ask for help and suggestions as she was organizing a March aimed at encouraging common sense gun control legislation. I volunteered to help and ended up creating and administering the Facebook page for her and her partner, Suzanne, on Christmas Day. It took off, and thankfully now we have real social media experts to fly with it! I am still helping with various social media and online aspects of the March…between breastfeeding, cooking, grocery shopping, and trying to walk around with a beautiful, willful child attached to my leg saying “UP.”
We have approximately 5,000 Marchers signed up to March with us on January 26th and have raised over $20,000.00 toward the funding of our March. But we need more Marchers, and more funds to best succeed with our mission.
If you want to do something to help, the best thing you can do is SHARE OUR PAGE https://www.facebook.com/GunCtrlMarch, encourage people to “like” and share it. Another huge way to help would be to donate and encourage others to donate to fund our March: https://rally.org/marchonwashingtonforguncontrol/c/kXWI1G8EimF
The time is NOW! We can make a difference.
About me: I grew up in a small town about 50 miles outside of New York City, not unlike the town of Sandy Hook. I am currently a stay at home mom. I work one day a week as a part-time Educational Theatre Consultant, teaching children about health and wellness. During the Virginia Tech shootings, I was teaching a group of 9th graders in a public school in central Virginia. We regularly practiced drills for what we were to do if a gunman entered the school: locking the door, turning off the lights, and sitting against the wall. It was terrifying for them. We all knew the door would be no match for certain weapons. And they were old enough to know what’s out there. I felt helpless and angry, then. I am still angry, but know that I am not helpless. We can do something to fix things in this country. We MUST do all we can.
Disclaimer: We welcome Guest Posts in order to expand the conversation on how we can prevent tragedies like Newtown by addressing the following areas: bullying, education, gun safety, mental healthcare, parenting and poverty. The opinions and views expressed in Guest Posts are those of the writer and may not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of It Can Happen Here, our Board of Directors, or our volunteers.
A Note From Ladd Everitt, Director of Communications, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
“On behalf of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, I would like to extend our sincere thanks to the founders and supporters of Preventing Newtown. Nothing can right the terrible tragedy that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary, or heal the wounds that were inflicted there. But by working together, we CAN make a difference and act to prevent future tragedies. In this moment, every single one of us is empowered. We can affect change on a daily level in a number of ways: By contacting our Members of Congress, signing petitions, attending local events focused on gun violence prevention, or by simply having open and honest discussions with family, friends and acquaintances. With your focus on dedicated grassroots activism, Preventing Newtown is a great example of the energy and determination we are now seeing in Americans from coast to coast. As you move forward in your campaign to save lives, never accept a politician telling you “No” and never tire. If we stand together and remain steadfast, then future mothers and fathers will not have to experience days like December 14, 2012. Thank you so much for everything you are doing.”
– Ladd Everitt, Director of Communications, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
SF Gate: Seal Press Author Offers Ways to Give Back Beyond the 26 Acts of Kindness Movement
“For those who would like to continue the 26 Acts of Kindness movement by honoring the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School through 2013, Cohen offers 13 child-friendly ideas for small actions that can have meaningful results.”
Read more: SFGate.com: Seal Press Author Offers Ways to Give Back Beyond the 26 Acts of Kindness Movement
Overnight Activist
Preventing Newtown
Stand Up For Peace
After learning I’d started Preventing Newtown, a friend wrote to me: “I didn’t realize you were such an activist.”
“I’m not,” I wrote back, laughing at the thought. “I loathe conflict and this gun control debate is making me physically ill. But, I found a few things I loathe more than conflict…like 20 children and 6 adults dying a violent death for no reason. Or the belief that my neighbor’s right to own a gun is more important than my child’s right to live. The fact that we have children going hungry every day in our country. Or that our education system is failing our children (and with it our country’s future), but our government has yet to provide the increase in funding necessary for it to improve. And that parents across the country are afraid of their own children, but have very few options to help them.
But most of all, I am tired of living in fear; fear of losing my child to senseless violence, fear of standing up to bullies like the NRA, fear that my voice won’t make a difference and fear that if I don’t stand up, nothing will change. So, if becoming an activist is what it takes, an activist I will become.”
Anyone care to join me?
When will YOU be ready to stand up for peace?
“List the precise steps that you have taken, personally, as a parent, to make sure that your own children will not be gunned down in the classroom. It’s been almost three weeks since twenty children, aged six and seven, were slaughtered in a town considered one of the safest in America, judging by its gun laws (which are utterly worthless, clearly, but without peer in the nation).
If you’re not insulted by this article yet, then you’re not reading closely.
Twenty days have passed. You could have spent at least, say, half an hour during each of them, following up on numerous proposals discussed immediately following the massacre. That’s less time than it takes to make dinner for your children.
If you have indeed put a great deal of time into addressing this monstrous situation, then I apologize. This is not directed at you. The rest of you, however — and I can prove that you are legion — should perhaps ask yourselves this: What exactly is the point of living in one of the greatest nations in history — arguably the most free — if you can’t personally do a damn thing to keep your family safe from thugs with semi-automatics?”
What have you done? Even if you feel gun control is not the answer, what steps have you taken to prevent another senseless tragedy like Newtown? What will it take to make you take action?
Read the entire HuffPost article by Douglas Anthony Cooper…and let me know when you are ready to stand up for peace.
It Can Happen Here 