A Bronx middle school has decided to raise awareness about gun violence through a campaign.
Last week, One World Middle School participated in WE Day, where the students started a ‘Pledge For Peace’ campaign to prevent gun violence.
The students decided to create the anti-violence campaign after being inspired by a fellow peer within the school who had experienced gun violence first hand.
Students mainly raised awareness by filling out pledges on hand cut hearts that read, “I experience violence when __________. I sign for peace.”
After realizing that the pledge campaign was such a huge success at their school, students decided to expand their message and partnered with students from Santa Elena Elementary School in Belize, a country hindered by gun violence.
Santa Elena and One World Middle School now have a ‘Partnership for Peace’, and more than 3,000 petitions have been collected between the two schools.
Last week, the students of One World Middle School also visited the United Nations to learn about what else they can do to grow their campaign.
“One World Middle School is an amazing example of bright, motivated kids wanting to make a difference in the community because the passion is already there,” said Caitlin Robisch, director of WE Schools for New York Tristate at WE. “They have a great group of administrators, teachers and students, and we could not be happier to nurture that passion by providing them with the tools and resources necessary for them to take action against violence.”
The first ever WE Day New York Welcome will take place on Thursday, April 6, when One World Middle School and other students will join Martin Luther King III, Daya, Talib Kweli, Rowan Blanchard, Winnie Harlow, Buzz Aldrin, Jordan Fisher, Angie Martinez and others at Radio City Music Hall to celebrate creating change in their local community.
WE Day, which has been in the United States since 2012 and takes place in 16 cities across North America and the United Kingdom, unites world renowned speakers, presenters and award-winning performers with thousands of young individuals and families to celebrate and inspire changing the world.
In the 2015-2016 school year, more than 113,000 students from over 3,500 schools across the U.S. volunteered more than 2,675,000 hours and raised more than $4,000,000 in support of various causes.
WE Day, part of the WE organization, will see more than 200,000 participants this year, and is the world’s largest youth empowerment event.
