As part of marking its 100th anniversary, Kimball Midwest, which recently opened a distribution center at 14 Prospect Road in Newtown, is holding a series of events throughout 2023.

Among them is a community campaign to celebrate the milestone in which Kimball Midwest has donated more than $1 million across the country. Each sales region, corporate department and distribution center received money for associates to donate to a qualified charity of their choosing.

The company’s Newtown Distribution Center associates selected Sandy Hook Promise, a national nonprofit organization, as their charitable contribution as part of the community campaign. The organization, founded and led by several family members whose loved ones were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012, works to protect children from school shootings, violence and other harmful acts. Its mission is to educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes and communities.

Mark Barden, co-founder and CEO of Sandy Hook Promise, represented the organization at a check presentation, which was part of a ribbon cutting event on October 6.

Barden spoke of Sandy Hook Promise’s mission, which began after Barden lost his 7-year-old son Daniel in the 12/14 tragedy, to prevent other families from having to endure similar trauma. He said the organization trains students and adults in all 50 states to look for warning signs that could lead to similar incidents, and they have trained 21 million youths and adults. Additionally, he says the training has helped to prevent 15 school shootings that were “planned and ready to happen.” All the work is done at no cost to the schools.

“We’ll turn this money right back around to the schools,” said Barden.

“When given the opportunity to choose a nonprofit to donate to on behalf of the Newtown DC [Distribution Center] and Kimball Midwest, we knew we wanted to choose a local nonprofit that has meaning to the community,” Newtown Distribution Center Manager Tracy Bosley said.

“Newtown is a tight-knit, family-based community; the tragedy in Sandy Hook was something that affected everyone here and across the nation in a profound way. To see good come from such a dark place have an impact not only at a local level, but a national level, made choosing Sandy Hook Promise an easy choice for us,” Bosley added. “The work Sandy Hook Promise does is meaningful and close to our hearts. We hope this contribution helps them continue to reach as many people as possible and provide a safe environment for children in all communities.”

Associate Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.