Imagine a world where every child has the emotional tools they need to face life’s challenges with resilience, kindness, and empathy. A world where emotional intelligence is just as important as math and reading. This has been my vision since I started the Choose Love Movement.
After my son Jesse’s death in the Sandy Hook shooting, I founded the Choose Love Movement to prevent other families from enduring similar pain. The program was created by teachers for teachers. It teaches kids about four character values: courage, gratitude, forgiveness and compassion. compassion. Today Choose Love is in over 16,000 schools, but our goal is to reach and additional 10,000 in 2025.
Why Character Social Emotional Development Matters
The mental health crisis among our children is reaching alarming levels, yet over 70% of our kids do not get the help they need.
- 1 in 3 high school students report feeling persistent sadness, or hopelessness which has increased by 40% since 2009. Girls reported these feelings 50% of the time.
- By the time our children are 18 years old, nearly half will have a diagnosed mental illness.
- The average onset age for anxiety is six years old.
Our children need us to step up. Mental health is the largest issue we face in our education system which not only impacts personal and academic success, but can compromise school and community safety. What happened to Jesse was preventable, and together, we are working to ensure that future tragedies like this never happen again.
Why 10,000 More Schools?
While the Choose Love program has already been implemented in thousands of schools across the country, we want to reach 10,000 more — and we need your help to do it. By expanding our reach, we can impact millions of children and equip them with the skills they need to thrive in an often unpredictable and difficult world.
Our goal is to bring the Choose Love SEL program into as many schools as possible. By reaching 10,000 more schools, we can help create a generation of young people who are better prepared to deal with the challenges life throws their way — and who will go on to make their communities safer, kinder, and more compassionate.
Ways You Can Help
Spread the Word – Share the Choose Love Movement with your friends, family, and social networks. The more people who know about our mission, the more we can grow and reach the schools that need our program.
Donate – Every dollar helps. Your contributions directly support the expansion of the Choose Love program into more schools.
Advocate – If you’re a parent, educator, or community leader, help us connect with schools that would benefit from the program. Your support in raising awareness within your local community is invaluable.
Get Involved – From volunteering to hosting fundraising events, there are many ways you can contribute to the movement. Every action, no matter how big or small, brings us closer to reaching our goal.
Together, We Can Build a Better Future
The Choose Love Movement is about more than just education — it’s about creating lasting change for children, families, and communities. By helping us bring the Choose Love program to 10,000 more schools, you are investing in the emotional well-being and future success of our children.
We believe that love is the key to healing the world. When we teach our children how to love themselves, how to show compassion for others, and how to act with kindness and empathy, we create a ripple effect that can change the world.
Together, we can Choose Love — for our children, our communities, and our world, and create a safer, more loving future for all.
