By Paige Jackson ’24
On December 14th, 2023, Gunn for Gun Safety ran a fundraiser in honor of the eleventh anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. Organizers asked students to pay three dollars in exchange for a dress-down day and requested they wear green on that Thursday.
While the organizers did not have a specific goal for how much we wanted to raise for the fundraiser, we hoped to raise a sizable amount of around a few hundred dollars. We also hoped to spread awareness and sensitivity around the issue of gun violence. The Highlanders went above and beyond, donating $1,400 to Sandy Hook Promise. This organization is extremely important to the club’s founders, Gordon Bennett and Paige Jackson. Co-founder Layla Copen also sympathizes greatly with the cause. It means a lot to us that the Gunn community contributed so significantly to such an important cause.
Sandy Hook Promise was founded in January 2013 by parents who lost children in the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. Mark Barden, father of Daniel Barden, and Nicole Hockley, mother of Dylan Hockley, came together in the year after the death of their children to seek change.
Gunn for Gun Safety aligns with the organization’s goals, so we chose the non-profit for our fundraiser. This fundraiser is also a large part of Gordon, Paige, and Layla’s Civic Changemakers Project, and we are extremely proud of and pleased with the results of the dress-down day.
Thank you to everyone who donated and helped make this possible!
