Shortly before the second anniversary of 12/14, two busloads of people from Newtown and the surrounding area went to Washington, DC, for the Second Annual National Vigil for Gun Violence Victims at the Washington National Cathedral. Before they returned home, they left a gift of thousands of books for students of one elementary school.

To #HonorWithAction, the group spent the morning before the December 11 vigil performing acts of kindness around Washington that had been organized through The Newtown Foundation. One group, including several high school students, went to Savoy Elementary School (SES), which is located within Anacostia, one of the poorest neighborhoods of Washington. Many kids in SES are not proficient in math or reading. Gun violence is prevalent in the area.

“The day before we delivered the books, the school had been in lockdown because someone was shot and killed outside an adjoining school,” said Sue Roman, a Newtown resident who helped organize and deliver the books. “The kids deal with gun violence all the time.”

Once they arrived at the school, the group sorted the donated books into reading level order. For weeks prior to the vigil, Newtown and area residents had been invited to donate books in like-new and new condition that were of appropriate reading level for elementary-age school children.

SES reading volunteer Amanda Goldstein had organized the book giveaway. She had initially expressed concern that the school would not be able to repeat it this year because they did not know where the books would come from.

Dave Ackert, spokesperson for The Newtown Foundation, and Ms Roman quickly told her that Newtown would find and deliver the books.

Dave and Eve Ackert put out the first call for children’s books, and friends, neighbors, and the librarians at Sandy Hook Elementary School came through. Scholastic donated books also. A public call for help was also issued, with residents invited to drop off any books they wanted to include in this year’s collection at The Wishing Well in Sandy Hook.

The Ackert family, including children Sophie and Noah, spent many hours organizing the donated books by reading level. Sue Roman and Dave Stowe drove the 34 boxes to Washington.

On the morning of Thursday, December 11, before the vigil at The Washington National Cathedral, Ms Roman, Dave Stowe, Eve and Sophie Ackert, Deb Palmieri, and Kara Pansa arrived with the books at Savoy Elementary School. They were met by four students, as well as Ms Goldstein, reading specialist Karen Bowles, and Principal Donyale Butler. The kids helped unload the books and bring them to the cafeteria/auditorium.

The Newtown group was also welcomed by The Savoy Players, a theater and dance group within the school, who “gave us a wonderful holiday performance,” said Ms Roman. “They sang and danced and brought our high schoolers up on the stage with them. Their performance lifted the spirits of all of us from Newtown,” she continued. “They had recently performed for First Lady Michelle Obama. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma had just performed at their school, which has a rich arts, music, and theater emphasis.”

The following day SES students began picking out books, selecting from the donated books according to reading level and what interested them.

“Each day last week the kids went “shopping’ for books to take home and read,” said Ms Roman. “This is an incentive to keep the kids in school all week before the holiday break.

“We have committed to keeping this partnership going,” she added, “and will be asking the community again next year to donate books for us to take to Savoy Elementary School.”