A chance to help the children of Newtown, Connecticut

Written by Jamie Martin of Simple Homeschool and Steady Mom

Do you remember where you were three years ago when you heard the news?

20 young children and six educators shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

I’ll never forget. I was at home, just a few miles from Sandy Hook Elementary–a school where all three of my children would have been that day if our family had not chosen to homeschool.

My heart broke, along with the hearts of my neighbors, the heart of our community, the heart of the nation, the heart of the world.

In the days, weeks, and months that followed, among the tears and prayers I lifted up, some sounded like this:

• God, why do you have us here, of all places?
• Please show us if there’s anything we can do to help.

Not long after these prayers made their way heavenward, our family discovered Walnut Hill Community Church, a nondenominational group of followers of Jesus and alongside many other churches, an active part of the community’s healing.

Recently my husband Steve began to serve on the church’s “Sandy Hook Restoration Fund,” and I saw God directing our paths, opening doors for us to make a difference in our community.

You see, right after the tragedy thousands of dollars poured into the church from around the world, to be used for the community and those directly affected by the shooting. The church formed a committee to steward the funds and make sure they reached the right hands.

And over the years, they have.

They’ve been used for counseling and trauma support for children who no longer have a sibling, for kids who hid in terror for hours that day, for first-responders who saw the unthinkable, for families affected who need temporary financial help, and for special events to aid the community’s healing.

In official terms:

“The Sandy Hook Fund exists to aid in the healing and rebuilding of the community by enabling and supporting immediate and long-term community, counseling, and school needs and initiatives. All monies are given in the name of Jesus with the purpose of being His hands and feet.”

Three years later, our community’s needs remain.

I know from friends involved that the anxiety and fear (for parents, teachers, and kids) return in waves and phases–sometimes much worse than they were during the initial days of shock. Some children still don’t sleep well. And some insurance companies have stopped covering counseling sessions, while families continue to desperately need their services.

Yes, children and families have plenty of needs here, and there’s a problem:

The money in the Sandy Hook Restoration Fund is nearly depleted.

This is why I write today. When the shooting first happened, emails and Facebook messages flooded my inbox from around the world–from concerned readers, friends, acquaintances:

“What can we do? Please let us help!”

So many messages came my way that I couldn’t respond, and a week later I posted this on my personal Facebook page:

“To everyone who has texted, called, emailed, or FB messaged me in the past week–Thank you so much for all the love, thoughts, and prayers. As I try to fight my way back to a new “normal” and be strong for my babies, I don’t have enough time to get back to each one of you. But you are close in heart and mind.” 

Everyone in our small community of Newtown wandered around those first few days and weeks in a daze, shocked and grieved.

We couldn’t tell friends far away how to help–because those of us right here didn’t even know how to help! And we had no clue what help we really needed.

Now we do. And three years later, I’d love to take you up on those offers.

I haven’t done any type of fundraising in this space since 2013, but you guys blew me away with your response the last time–when you joined with our family’s work helping child trafficking survivors through Love146.

Today’s opportunity connects deeply in my spirit just like that one did, and not only because we live here.

It connects because many of us reading today have young children. We remember the horror of December 14, 2012. And as moms and dads of littles, we can easily imagine ourselves in these families’ places.

We can imagine the painful reminder each holiday season would bring, and the personal nightmares families down my street and around the corner relive this week.

A chance to help Newtown

Pastors at my church estimate needing $25,000 to serve those in Newtown in the coming year, and I’d love to kick off 2016 with a huge chunk of that in the bank, ready for those it can help.

Will you join me?

All donations will be earmarked for the Sandy Hook Restoration Fund and distributed by my husband Steve and the other members of the committee.

I’ve created a fundraising page at Classy.org where you can give and keep track of our progress. All donations are tax-deductible.

This time of year, there are many causes to give to–all of them valid and worthy. Our world is a hurting place, and beautiful people and organizations are working to heal the hurts.

I don’t mean to detract from that, to add more noise, or to suggest that this cause is any more important.

But if this opportunity pricks at your heart, if you remember that day three years ago, if you wished you could do something to help, I’d like to invite you to make a direct impact on hurting children and families this holiday season.

Thank you for sending your prayers and your gifts to this precious community. We love it so.

Donations can be given securely by clicking here. This fundraiser ends on December 31st, 2015! Thank you!

“Treasured and cherished safely in my memory remains forever Newtown…as I know it. Now you know it, too.”
~ From the post I wrote three days after the tragedy