MARCH FOR OUR LIVES - PARKLAND

After the most recent mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo, March For Our Lives is again planning a nationwide march in Washington DC and 300+ sister marches around the country, with one of the largest rallies in Parkland. We must ask ourselves: How many more children have to die in their classrooms? How many more lives will be taken by guns every day?  Sadly, the only notable change in our country is that kids are now formally trained to hide, barricade doors, fight, or run for their lives. Congress has done nothing to help us.

 

This march aims to force members of Congress to answer the young people and the many communities and organizations fueling this movement. The Parkland event will be a rally and march in Parkland, Florida, at Pine Trails Park on Saturday, June 11th, from 9 am to 12 pm. Speakers at the rally will include survivors of the Parkland mass shooting, victims' family members, and people impacted by daily gun violence. We anticipate 10,000 people, though we do not know what the numbers will ultimately be.

We are asking for assistance to provide support to make this rally and march as impactful as possible while also maintaining safety for all participants. Help is needed to fund a professional team to organize the logistics of the rally and march to streamline processes and plan as efficiently, quickly and safely as possible, including paying for security, managing parking, ingress and egress, screens, sound, and production. As this is a community of survivors, the event must be trauma-informed. At the same time, we also want to ensure it is as impactful and powerful as possible to push our elected leaders to create necessary policy change, rather than their empty and useless “thoughts and prayers.” We are marching for comprehensive gun violence prevention but can only do so with your help.

Our community continues to suffer and grieve our own unimaginable loss. Yet, these shootings continue to rip through our country and four years later, we are back to marching. As the Parkland MFOL chapter president, I am all too familiar with the dangerous cycle of ignorance towards gun violence. During the shooting at Douglas, I was at the middle school right next door and heard the gunshots. My trauma has motivated me to turn my grief and pain into action. As a co-organizer of this event, I know that the only way to end gun violence is to band together and outweigh the money lining our politicians’ pockets.

 

We cannot thank you enough for your ongoing support and are genuinely grateful for your contributions towards helping us solve this horrific epidemic of gun violence. With your support, we can make a difference!!