Newtown – Yesterday, at a press event at Hermosa Valley School in Hermosa Beach, Sandy Hook Promise and the LA Kings announced a partnership to train local Los Angeles-area schools and communities in violence prevention programs. The LA Kings have made a three-year commitment to deliver the evidence-based Know The Signs programs to more than 65,000 middle and high school students and educators in the Los Angeles area, including LA Unified School District (LAUSD), Torrance Unified School District, and Conejo Unified School District schools.
A check in the amount of $360,000 was presented by the LA Kings to Sandy Hook Promise after school-wide trainings in Start with Hello, one of the Know the Signs programs proven to decrease and prevent social isolation and bullying in schools.
This philanthropic partnership provides $360,000 over three years to bring SHP’s Know the Signs programs — Start With Hello, Say Something, and the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System — to districts in the Los Angeles area at no cost.
The announcement was made at Hermosa Valley School in Southern California, where LA Kings’ President and NHL Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille and LA Kings defenseman Derek Forbort joined students for Start with Hello Week activities that were developed by student leaders from the school including creating “compliment cards” for kids to share with their peers. In addition, Kings players Trevor Lewis, Jeff Carter and Kyle Clifford visited students in classrooms to play Ice Breaker games as did Kings mascot Bailey.
“We are so grateful to the LA Kings for taking a stand in their community to prevent gun violence,” said Nicole Hockley, co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise and mother of Dylan who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. “With their support, we will empower even more LA-area students to ‘Know the Signs’ to prevent school shootings and suicides, reduce bullying, and create safer and more inclusive schools for all kids.”
“It was very important to our organization to continue the ENOUGH (anti-bullying social media campaign),” Luc Robitaille said. “Sandy Hook Promise is the perfect partner. Their mission to prevent gun violence and other forms of violence and victimization before they happen is exactly what we stand behind. We’re honored to join forces with them to reach kids, teachers and administrators all through Los Angeles.”
To date, more than 7.5 million people nationwide have been trained in Sandy Hook Promise’s proven Know the Signs programs that focus on gun violence prevention by training youth and adults how to identify at-risk behavior and intervene to get help before a tragedy can occur. Through these no-cost programs, Sandy Hook Promise has averted multiple school shooting plots, teen suicides, and countless other acts of violence.
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About Sandy Hook Promise: Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) is a national nonprofit organization based in Newtown, Connecticut. SHP is led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. SHP’s mission is to prevent gun violence and other forms of violence and victimization BEFORE they can happen by creating a culture of engaged youth and adults committed to identifying, intervening, and getting help for individuals who might be at risk of hurting themselves or others. SHP is a moderate, above-the-politics organization that supports sensible program and policy solutions that address the “human side” of gun violence by preventing individuals from ever getting to the point of picking up a firearm to hurt themselves or others. Our words, actions, and impact nationwide are intended to honor all victims of gun violence by turning our tragedy into a moment of transformation. Make the Promise at www.sandyhookpromise.org.