How to help the community of Newtown

As we grieve, we can also give

By Parenting Magazine Dec 17, 2012 4:31AM

In the wake of the unfathomable tragedy at Sandy Hook School Friday, people all over the world have been aching to do something, anything to help. The following are a few organizations that are accepting donations for the community:

The United Way has set up the Sandy Hook School Support Fund.

“United Way extends our most sincere condolences and prayers to all those families affected by the devastating events in Newtown/Sandy Hook, Connecticut. While the eyes of the world may be on Newtown/Sandy Hook, to several staff, volunteers and contributors, Newtown is home. We will stand with the community and everyone affected directly and indirectly by this tragic event as we face the days and weeks ahead,” the United Way of Western Connecticut’s Web site says.

Check donations may be mailed to:

Sandy Hook School Support Fund
c/o Newtown Savings Bank
39 Main Street, Newtown CT 06470

You can drop a donation off at any Newtown Savings Bank branch location.

Or you can donate by credit card online.

Plus: Should you tell your kids about the shooting?

The American Red Cross

The American Red Cross of Connecticut provided more than 50 units of blood platelets and plasma to the Danbury Hospital, where some of the victims were transported, spokesperson Melanie Pipkin told the Huffington Post. The organization has also distributed food and water to first responders and is setting up a family reception center that will provide initial grief counseling, but they do not anticipate needing any more blood donations going forward. More here.

Newtown Youth and Family Services

Newtown Youth & Family Services, Inc., a nonprofit mental health clinic, will be open this weekend from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to provide emergency counseling to families, community members or staff. All donations made to the organization will benefit those affected. Find out how you can help here.

Newtown Parent Connection

The Newtown Parent Connection, a nonprofit that addresses issues of substance abuse, also offers bereavement group counseling and will to try to bring in additional counselors to accommodate the needs of those affected by the shooting. More here.

New York Times "Your Money" Columnist Ron Lieber posted the following suggestion on his Facebook page this morning:

Buy the community of Newtown, CT some breakfast, lunch or dinner. You can call King's Breakfast & Lunch at 203-426-6881 or call My Place Pizza at 203-270-7061. I told them to send pizzas and give meals to whoever needs it. I just called Kings and they were unbelievably grateful. Or look on Yelp.
More from Parenting:
Who could do something like this?
Hope, in the face of tragedy
Another horrifying, senseless blog post

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87Comments

Best

Dec 17, 2012 10:03AM

The best way we can support that community is in our personal choices we make for ourselves and our children.....turn off the violent and mindless TV programs, stop going to the violent movies, stop buying/playing the violent graphic video games, stop buying/listening to music with violent lyrics. Notice a theme here. We glorify violence. You can't tell me that now that 2 or 3 generations of children who have have grown up constant violent messages bombarded at them that it doesn't eventually begin to have some terrible affects. And banning guns isn't the answer. If someone is bent on killing a lot of people, they'll find a way with homemade bombs, poisoning, etc. The real question is why do we have so many mentally ill people in this country and why don't we have a better way to deal with them? It's the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about. And the reason for that is the first place to start is looking in the mirror which no one wants to do because no one wants to admit they have been leading irresponsible lives. Society is where it is today due to the culmination of all of our personal decisions. If we want to make society a better place it starts with each one of us and how we live our lives and how we raise our children and what we allow them to be exposed to. I'm not saying Adam Lazan became so mentally ill due to his upbringing. But an Adam Lazan born 50 years ago with the same mental illness probably would not have desired to mass kill innocent children. And the difference between 50 years ago and today is the degradation of society which accounts for most of our problems.

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Aged One

Dec 17, 2012 12:19PM

Set up a fund to tear down that school ...never to be used again... re-build it somewhere else to prevent kids from having to go there and relive this tragedy......make a peace park out of the flattened site in rememberence of those lost......

If people can send $500,000 to a bus monitor for the verbal attacks on her....the it would seem we could easily send enough to demolish and possibly begin building a new school.....

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DC11665

Dec 17, 2012 10:58AM

Pray for the dead and their families, be extra kind to every little kid you see, and throw your local first graders and their teacher a pizza party.

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MADJACK14

Dec 17, 2012 1:25PM

I PROPOSE ZERO RECOGNITION!!! MAKE IT A FEDERAL OFFENSE TO PRINT THE NAME OR A PICTURE OF WHAT I CHOOSE TO CALL "IT". THESE GLORY SEEKERS GET WORLD WIDE RECOGNITION THROUGH THESE ACTS. NO ONE WOULD HAVE NOTICED IF "IT" WOULD HAVE JUST KILLED "IT'S" SELF. BUT THE MEDIA ALLOWS US TO KNOW EVERY THING ABOUT THE "ITS". A YEAR FROM NOW MOST WILL STILL KNOW "IT'S" NAME BUT NOT A SINGLE VICTIMS NAME!?!? I PLAN TO PRESENT THIS TO MY CONGRESSMAN HERE IN TENNESSEE. I WOULD LOVE ANY FEED BACK AND SUPPORT......REMEMBER.... ZERO RECOGNITION!!!!!!!!!!

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Adam Palmer (CarBaby)

Dec 17, 2012 1:31PM

This recent shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary school has shocked us by how many children were murdered and without any apparent rational motive or reason for it. The carnage is incomprehensible. There is no language to articulate the horror and anger and despair we all feel for these children, their families, the school staff and the entire town.

How many of us had wished we were there to stop it? How many of us would have gladly risked our lives or even given them up to stop Adam Lanza from murdering these children? How many of us would have gladly shot and killed him before he got off the first round even if it meant we went to jail?

The real tragedy in all this is there is realistically very little any of us could have done to stop this from happening. We don’t have access to a time machine and the future police are just a movie concept. Sometimes bad things just happen to good people and to young children and there isn’t anything we can do to stop it.

Safety is just an allusion. It doesn’t really exist. It’s a construct we create it so we don’t have to think about dropping our own kids off at school and pray nothing happens to them worse than a skinned knee or a missed homework assignment. The fact is the world is a violent unpredictable place and the history of humanity is filled with the exploitation and violence committed against children and against each other. It’s only in the last few decades we’ve finally taken a long hard look at ourselves and we don’t like what we see. That’s positive. It’s a start.

We can blame the availability of too many guns, high capacity pistol magazines, assault rifles, violent video games, single parent households and all the psychotropic drugs doctors prescribe for children who can’t sit still in class. All of these are valid arguments but they are all missing the point. We’re treating the symptoms not the disease.

Since the late 1990s mass murders are on the rise worldwide. Young men from their late teens to late twenties who in many cases had no violent history or diagnosed mental illness are now out of control and committing heinous crimes of mass murder in malls, schools and movie theaters. These young men are from all races and all backgrounds but the one thing they have in common is no sense of community and no safe outlet for their rage and frustration.

The problem and the solution to this is us, all of us. We are all responsible whether we care to take that responsibility or not. Families and communities have broken down. The economy hasn’t helped and neither have the medications that are a poor substitute for adult supervision and intervention. We disrespect our elderly and mistreat our young. We send a message that it’s everyone for themselves and it’s okay to mismanage the economy, our money, our morality and cause this socio-economic collapse we now live in. Don’t worry the government will pay the tab as will our children’s children. If you’re not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. That is as true then as it is now.

We have to look to ourselves to first do the right thing and then make sure our friends, family and community also does the right thing. You can’t legislate common sense, morality, decency and responsibility. You can’t rely on others do it for you either.

You can’t live in a world of denial and blame everyone for society’s problems when you live in that society. Nothing will change for the better until we look at this problem as our problem and work together for a solution. This means we all must be involved.

It is always easier not to do the right thing. It is easier to deny our own culpability and it is easier to demand the government step up and make us safe. How‘s this all working out for us? Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results…

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Maggie Smith (magz7)

Dec 17, 2012 10:46AM

I would like this message sent to ALL schools - after all the children get into school every morning and all day long - KEEP THE CLASSROOM DOOR LOCKED AFTER THE KIDS GET INTO THEIR ROOMS. A gun man can't open the door. If a school personnel needs to talk to the teacher - then use the intercom. It may be bothersome for a while but I think it would help keep kids safe.

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Jeffry Cadorette

Dec 17, 2012 11:05AM

You can also help by donating to this fund set up by the Rotary Club of Newtown. . These are local business and professional men and women who live in the community.

THE NEWTOWN ROTARY FOUNDATION
ANNOUNCES THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE
NEWTOWN ROTARY SANDY HOOK SCHOOL FUND

The fund is dedicated to the victims of the Sandy Hook School tragedy, to help support both their short term and long term needs.
Please send your tax deductible contributions to:

Newtown Rotary Sandy Hook School Fund
PO Box 263
Newtown, CT 06482

The Newtown Rotary Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt charitable organization under Section501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.

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Stenee

Dec 17, 2012 1:25PM

As spiekars has stated, violence is glorified senselessly. Turn this Country around and say No to this junk!! Pay attention to what your children watch on tv. Help them keep their innocence. Too many adults accept this world the way it is today, and don't stand up for what is moral and right. Many say, "Get With The Times". Well look what's happening in our day and time.

Stop supporting horrible video games, violent tv shows and movies, and keep your children's innocence at bay. They have enough to deal with while growing up. Watch wholesome tv with your families. Do things with your children. Tell them you love them everyday and each other the same. Pray together and study God's words together. We are in the last day's people. We better make a change in our lives before it's too late.

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How to help the community of Newtown

As we grieve, we can also give

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