How Parents Find Hope When Their Children Are Victims Of Violence
School shootings, gang violence, domestic abuse and other heinous criminal acts in the U.S. have claimed the lives of many young people, devastating families and sending shockwaves across communities.
Reminders of these tragedies — and the dark side of human nature — are never far away, especially when those horrific events drew national media attention.
Amid the intense grief that surviving family members of the victims experience, how do parents find a way forward to lead the healing process? Some take on a larger role in community activism — turning their deep personal sadness and love for their child into actions that can help others. For example, in the wake of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School (Newtown, Mass.), the parents of a 6-year-old boy killed in the attack founded Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit whose goal is to protect children from gun violence.
Dr. Buck Blodgett, whose daughter, Jessie, was raped and murdered, founded The Love>hate Project (www.ligth.org) and wrote the book A MESSAGE FROM JESSIE: The Incredible True Story of Murder and Miracles in the Heartland. The organization and book spearhead his mission to end male violence against women and to “inspire people to choose love over hate in our violent and sick world.”
“Finding purpose in tragedy can make the world a better place,” Blodgett says. “As a loving parent, I had to speak for Jessie and make her life matter. I had to forward her legacy project and turn this unthinkable tragedy into something good.
“Grieving parents are sometimes the best-positioned people to create awareness and change by taking action.”
What various roles can parents take when tragedy strikes their children or those of other people, and how can their actions make a difference in the world? Here are some examples:
Get involved in local and national solutions. Grieving parents can be powerful advocates for change. Following the murder of 17 students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the families of the victims started a foundation demanding school-safety reforms, served as commissioners on the inquiry into the mass shooting, won seats on the school board, and assisted efforts to improve campus security throughout the country. A school shooting spree that killed 10 students and wounded 13 in the Houston area led to parents of the victims forming advocacy groups and nonprofits.
Start support groups. Grieving families sometimes find the best help they can give is to other grieving families. After the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas that claimed killed 58 people, a Bradenton, FL couple who lost their daughter in the tragedy started a program at their church called “GriefShare.”
Stage or sign off on peaceful protests. Young people are more prone to protest than their parents, but parents can give kids the green light to be heard about social issues. About 50 students at Glencoe School District, near Chicago, got the written consent of their parents to participate in a nationwide 17-minute silent protest on the one-month anniversary of the shootings in Parkland, Fla. Many carried signs with slogans such as #ENOUGH or “Not One More.”
“You can’t always choose what happens,” Blodgett says, “but you can choose how you respond.”
About Dr. Buck Blodgett
Dr. Buck Blodgett is the author of A Message from Jessie, the Founder of The LOVE>hate Project (www.ligth.org), and the 2015 Resilience in Education Person of the Year. In family chiropractic practice since 1996, he is also the founder of The Chiropractic & Wellness Group, Inc. and Wellness Drs. He and his wife, Joy, were the parents of Jessie, who was murdered when she was 19. Since her death, Blodgett has worked to end violence and to educate, motivate, and inspire young minds to choose love over hate. He speaks nationally in schools, conferences, and prisons.
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VentureWrench Guide to Investor Capital for Entrepreneurs
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Nicole Toomey Davis, Enclavix Pres & CEO and VentureWrench Co-Creator
New E-book Available to Entrepreneurs at No Cost to Help Support Entrepreneurship
It’s easy for an entrepreneur to make mistakes that can kill their chance of raising startup money from investors. This guide includes insider insights about raising investor capital.”
— Nicole Toomey Davis, Enclavix President & CEO and VentureWrench co-creator
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, US, July 25, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The VentureWrench™ Startup Community from Enclavix™, LLC announced that it has released its new "VentureWrench Guide to Investor Capital". This E-book includes over 50 pages of insights and advice to help entrepreneurs be more successful in raising capital from investors.
The VentureWrench team of serial entrepreneurs at Enclavix launched the VentureWrench Startup Community to help accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship and this new guide helps entrepreneurs get to know the unique strategy of "Designing the Perfect Investor™" which helps entrepreneurs target perfect investors and avoid poisoning the fundraising well.
Enclavix President & CEO and VentureWrench co-creator, Nicole Toomey Davis shared, “It’s easy for an entrepreneur to make mistakes that can kill their chance of raising startup money from investors. We are delighted to make our exclusive VentureWrench Guide to Investor Capital available at no cost to entrepreneurs to help them be smarter and savvier as they prepare to raise capital. This unique guide written specifically for entrepreneurs includes insider insights about angel investors, venture capital investors, equity crowdfunding, the best ways to structure your deal and much more!"
Entrepreneurs can visit https://venturewrench.com/investorcapitalguide/ to get their free copy of the VentureWrench Guide to Investor Capital.
The VentureWrench Startup Community builds on the AI-powered VentureWrench Library at Library.VentureWrench.com, also free for entrepreneurs, and adds rich content including E-books, checklists, guides, the teams StartupNotes blog, online courses and workshops to help entrepreneurs get to success more quickly. Entrepreneurs can access all of this and more at VentureWrench.com.
About Enclavix, LLC and the VentureWrench Startup Community
Enclavix is an Artificial Intelligence software company that creates online tools to accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship by applying artificial intelligence, machine learning and related technologies to identify and curate the highest quality, most useful resources to coach and support startup entrepreneurs and to tackle intellectual property challenges. The company has received over $1.2 million in funding from the National Science Foundation through the SBIR program to allow the launch of the AI – powered VentureWrench Library. The VentureWrench Startup Community combines artificial intelligence and advanced software with rich content to help entrepreneurs bring capital into their business, solve problems, answer questions and help them move their business forward.
The startup coaches and creators of the VentureWrench Startup Community, the team at Enclavix, LLC, are experienced entrepreneurs who have started multiple businesses, raised millions of dollars in investment from investors and the SBIR program, and sold their prior company to a public firm. Our CEO has also mentored and provided grant funding for dozens of emerging technology companies through her public service running a State funding program. The team is passionate about entrepreneurship and its potential for entrepreneurs and for the economy.
Enclavix designed the VentureWrench Library to help entrepreneurs find the information they need – from the best resources – as quickly as possible. Enclavix appreciates the support of the National Science Foundation which provided funding for a portion of this work.
Learn more at https://venturewrench.com/ or https://venturewrench.com/about/ .
Nicole Toomey Davis
Enclavix, LLC - VentureWrench
+1 385-399-9686
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Excerpt Video of Designing the Perfect Investor - Raising Capital for Your Startup
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THE VIEW FROM
T O R R E Y H O U S E
July 2019
With a new piece every month, Voices Rising elevates millennial voices through a digital platform to publish diverse forms of storytelling. From poetry and creative nonfiction to song and visual art, we hear from young people grappling with the greatest challenges society faces.
by Olivia Juarez
One of my greatest wants in life is time with myself in a place where I can go at it alone. I crave embarking on a trailhead in the direction of a place which has been spared the physical constructs of modern “western” society.
But I’m female. I’m femme, and I’m brown. The first thing I was taught in relation to this part of my identity was to protect my body from men. And when I venture into these craved wild places, I see so much. I see peace and consternation. My body works to move along a place, to whatever destination I set out for. My breath is heavy, and my 3G is zero. There is no connection beyond my own body and the elements that circulate through it.
Introducing Heidi Gress
The Torrey House Board of Directors welcomes its newest member, Heidi Gress. Heidi joins us as the current director of Impact Hub Salt Lake. She was raised in Park City and spent her childhood exploring the diverse landscapes of Utah. Heidi studied European Cinema at the University of London, eventually completing her BFA in film at Chapman University in Southern California. While living in California, she worked as a commercial producer, fashion filmmaker, documentary director, and still photographer; her photojournalistic work has been exhibited in galleries internationally. Eventually, her photography experience led her to the world of magazine publishing where she worked as publisher of Sphere magazine for five years. With a desire to reconnect with family and natural places, Heidi returned to Salt Lake City and accepted a position with JES Publishing. She has become an active member of the local arts and cultural scene here in Salt Lake and found a natural fit at Impact Hub engaging with her local community.
Welcome,
Kirtly Parker Jones
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Water, the most critical fluid on the planet, is seen as savior, benefactor, and Holy Grail in these fifteen essays on natural and faux oases.
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