Remembering the victims in Newtown
This holiday season it appears impossible to find anyone who isn’t grieving for the youngsters and educators who died in the mass shooting in Newtown.
Friends who know that I work for the Connecticut Education Association have been calling and sending their condolences.
But they are doing so much more. They are reliving wonderful childhood memories of their favorite elementary school teachers. They are sending cards, flowers, donations, and sharing their acts of generosity and kindness using the hashtag #26ActsOfKindness on Twitter and the Facebook page 26 Acts of Kindness.
One friend gave me a candle and asked me to burn it for 26 consecutive days to honor those killed. Another, an orthodontist, asked her patients to sign a card that she delivered to the memorial site at Sandy Hook Elementary. One friend donated blood in memory of the victims. And countless others have been asking for contact information and the address for the United Way, so they can make monetary donations.
Tom, a former colleague and the father of a 10-year-old boy, was hit hard by the tragedy. He didn’t know what to do, but as a musician, he did what he does best—he wrote a song- “Love Comes to Us All.” It made him feel a little better and he hopes others will find comfort in it too.
