March 22, 2000

LETTER OF SUPPORT

"The Gathering"

On behalf of the Executive Board and staff of the Ribbon of Promise, National Campaign to End School Violence, I would like to offer support for "The Gathering."

"The Gathering" is an event being hosted by the Ontario California Police Department on August 5, 2000. It is our understanding that the event is primarily for the following purposes: 1) To bring together families from all parts of the country that have been survivors of recent school shootings; 2) To showcase prevention and intervention efforts toward ending such violence, and 3) To host a benefit concert where proceeds will be divided amongst the families’ chosen charities.

In light of our mission to "unite the nation in an effort to end school violence…" we applaud the efforts of the Ontario Police Department to bring together the many families whose lives have been changed forever as a result of this senseless violence. We have worked with many of these families over the past two years and strongly support this opportunity for them to unite. It is our hope that this event will provide additional awareness to the nation for a need to be proactive in ending school violence. It is also our desire that "The Gathering" will highlight programs and ideas that may be helpful toward this goal.

We strongly urge your support and funding for "The Gathering." This type of event will certainly further the resolve of many concerned citizens across the nation to find solutions to ending violence in our children's’ schools. Together, we can end the violence!

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The Ribbon of Promise was born out of a tragic crisis that occurred in our community on May 21, 1998. Our own Thurston High School was victim to a school shooting where two students and two parents were shot to death and another 25 students were wounded. Numerous other communities across the nation had already experienced such pain prior to Springfield, Oregon. The horrific incident at Columbine High School in Colorado only furthered our resolve to unite the nation in an effort to end school violence.

We are a national grass-roots organization that was co-founded by the local fire chief, Dennis Murphy and a fire captain, Paul Esselstyn. Our strategy for ending school violence is one of encouraging participation from all community members. The broad-based strategy includes elements of education and prevention, intervention, and enforcement. We are particularly excited about two programs that we are currently releasing.

By Kids 4 Kids (BK4K) is a student-to-student program that we believe will become a national movement among youth. We are encouraged by media reports of ten violent school attacks that were stopped before they could be carried out. The "secret" of how these attacks were stopped has been captured and will be ready soon for national distribution in a BK4K professional video that will assist the kids in breaking the "code of silence." BK4K is also a call to action for students to get involved in ending the violence.

Parent Advocates for Safe Schools (PASS) is a companion parent-based program which works in harmony with the student program. It encourages parental involvement in the schools, promotes the use of a reporting hotline, and offers a "school safety check list" for parents and others to utilize in their safety efforts at school.

The Ribbon of Promise has received the endorsement of the National PTA, the University of Oregon Institute on Violence and Destructive Behavior, and numerous other organizations. Please visit our web site at www.ribbonofpromise.org.

Sincerely,

Cindy Brown
Executive Director