Sandy Hook Promise was founded by loved ones of the victims of the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012. This timeline from tragedy to transformation illustrates the growth of our organization and the movement to stop school shootings, prevent gun violence and create safer schools, homes, and communities.
Twenty first-graders and six educators are killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School by 154 bullets fired in less than five minutes. Affected families begin meeting in a Newtown home to discuss how to ensure a school shooting tragedy like this would never happen again.
Several families unite to launch Sandy Hook Promise on January 14, 2013. At the event, “The Promise” is read for the first time. Co-founders begin to lobby in Washington, D.C., for expanded background checks. Sadly, expanded background checks fail to pass Congress.
In Connecticut, 24 Sandy Hook family members call on the State Legislature to strengthen the large capacity magazine provision. The Legislature responds by placing much needed restrictions on ammunition sales.
To address prevention beyond legislation, Co-founders begin research nationwide on mental health, educational programs, law enforcement, mass shootings, and school shootings. It is soon discovered that warning signs precede every attack. No one yet teaches these warning signs of violence. Broad research begins the strategy and development of the Know the Signs programs, including Say Something and Start With Hello.
No One Eats Alone campaign becomes Sandy Hook Promise’s first call-to-action to address social isolation. The first Start With Hello training is conducted at Ruth C. Kinney Elementary School in Islip Terrace, New York. The first Say Something program teaching the warning signs of potential violence is conducted by Nicole Hockley, Sandy Hook Promise Co-founder, in November 2014 at St. John’s Church in Columbus, Ohio.
The first credible school shooting plot is averted in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the help of a Say Something-trained student and guidance counselor.
Sandy Hook Promise holds its first annual Promise Champions Gala in Washington, D.C., to honor corporate sponsorships and elected officials supporting our bipartisan programs and policies.
Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund leads a coalition to pass the 21st Century Cures Act and rallies to support the Mental Health Reform Act. The laws provide meaningful reform in mental health resources and to ensure those in distress have access to the needed services.
Mark Barden, Sandy Hook Promise Co-founder, testifies at the Senate Hearing on President Barack Obama’s Executive Actions on Guns.
12/14/2017 marks the 5-year Remembrance of the tragedy that killed 26 lives at Sandy Hook Elementary School. A benefit is held at the Plaza in New York City to create support for our mission.
SAVE (Students Against Violence Everywhere) merges with Sandy Hook Promise to create SAVE Promise Club chapters in elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide.
Programs and policy initiatives continue to grow, in part due to the Parkland, Florida, mass shooting. The Say Something Anonymous Reporting System launches nationwide, the first anonymous reporting system exclusively serving schools 24/7/365. The Walt Disney Company agrees to fund the development of a digital Start With Hello, which launches with training specifically for elementary schools.
Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund writes and helps pass the landmark Students Teachers and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act to fund suicide prevention and youth-focused mental health programs at the state level. By the end of FY2024, the Action Fund has secured more than $1B in funding.
Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund brings stakeholders to the table to pass the Texas School Safety and Mental Health in Public Schools Act (2019) requiring that every district’s enrichment curriculum include suicide prevention and warning sign information.
The National Crisis Center for the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System launches in Miami, Florida.
Sandy Hook Promise launches Say Something: Prevent Suicide and Being a Trusted Adult programs to prevent youth suicide and violence. This bolsters virtual tools and options of the Know the Signs programs due to the COVID pandemic.
The “Back-to-School Essentials” Public Service Announcement (PSA) wins the Emmy for Outstanding Commercial (aired in 2019).
Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund champions the Ohio Safety and Violence Education (SAVE) for Students Act to require students to receive life-saving training, like Know the Signs.
Programs continue to center focus on youth mental health with new and updated resources for youth and adults as impact of the COVID pandemic continues.
Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund writes and passes Suicide Training and Awareness Nationally Delivered for Universal Prevention (STANDUP) Act .
Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” takes on new meaning when performed by real school shooting survivors in Sandy Hook Promise’s new PSA (wins Emmy for Outstanding Commercial in 2022).
12/14/2022 marks the 10-year Remembrance of the tragedy. Sandy Hook Promise honors loved ones and the impact of the life-saving Know the Signs programs and policies.
Say Something: Elementary launches for K-5 students using the Say Something framework with age-appropriate curriculum with an Animated Series option.
Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund plays a pivotal role in the writing and passing of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in the wake of the horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Sandy Hook Promise launches “Just Joking,” a PSA highlighting the seriousness of threats. Featuring comedians like Billy Eichner, Wanda Sykes, and Margaret Cho, the PSA starts as a comedy show. However, it quickly reveals the “jokes” are real threats from school shooters and the need to take all threats seriously.
Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund passes the Minnesota Students Safe at School Act that ended active shooter simulations in all MN schools, requiring all students to receive evidence-based violence prevention training each year in school.
Introduces the bipartisan Kid PROOF (Preventing Risks of Opioid and Other Failures) Act. The Kid PROOF Act provides schools and healthcare providers with mental health resources focused on youth suicide prevention.
The implementation of Sandy Hook Promise’s learning projects in the Bronx, Atlanta, and Southwest Georgia takes shape by successfully training student leaders, establishing SAVE Promise Clubs, and advancing our mission of gun violence prevention and community support.
Sandy Hook Promise launches a new advocacy campaign with UnTargeting Kids: Protecting Children from Harmful Firearm Marketing. The report reveals how the firearm industry targets youth with R-rated, aggressive, and sexualized content, often through influencers.
Successfully helps advocate for a dedicated White House office to address the gun violence public health epidemic in the United States. In 2024, the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention was created.
Helps pass the Students Safe at School Act in Indiana, ending mandatory active shooter simulations for more than one million K-12 students and teachers annually.
Expands protections through the SAVE (Safety and Violence Education) Act to require suicide and youth violence prevention training for more than three million students in Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, and Louisiana.
More than one million students gain access to the National Crisis Center through partnerships, supporting K-12 schools and 126 higher education campuses.
Introduces the PLAN (Preparing Leaders to Assess Needs) Act to help make it easier for schools to implement this programming by providing comprehensive student violence prevention planning resources.
Millions of Promise Makers have made The Promise to help prevent gun violence and protect children. The legacy of the loved ones killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School continues with Dylan’s Butterfly Effect, Mary’s inspiration of our mental health work, and Daniel’s Compassion and Connection.
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Stay informed on what Sandy Hook Promise is doing to help prevent gun violence in schools, homes and communities.
