One month after the Marjory Stomeman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla., in February 2018, LT started the Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) Promise Club, club sponsor Pat Callahan said. SAVE Promise Club is a national organization run by students at high schools associated with the Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) organization, which began in 2012 after being founded by victim’s families in the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting in Newton, Conn. 

“SAVE Promise Clubs are part of SHP and are a place for young people across the country to show their leadership, creativity and passion for protecting their friends, schools and communities from violence before it happens,” Callahan said. 

This year, LT’s Say Something week took place on March 4 through 8, focused on encouraging students to be upstanders and report potential threats of violence to a trusted adult, Ellie Clinite ‘24 said. This could be as simple as telling a parent or teacher that you’re concerned a student might harm themselves or others. 

“The main focus of SHP is to prevent gun violence and other forms of violence before it happens by educating and mobilizing schools, parents and communities on mental health and wellness programs that identify, intervene, and help at risk individuals,” Callahan said. 

To prepare, members focused on interactive ways both students inside and outside of the SAVE Promise club can participate, Clinite said. For example, SAVE Promise Club members, as well as Peaceable School Initiative (PSI) members, placed sticky notes with positive and encouraging messages on every locker in the school in late February. 

“During Say Something Week, [SAVE Promise Club has] activities that teach students to reach out and include those who may be dealing with social isolation, and who might be at risk of harming themselves or others,” Kathryn Adams ‘24 said.

Each year SAVE Promise Club tries to do something different, whether that’s giving away water bottles or stickers, Callahan said. This year SAVE Promise Club gave out wristbands at both campuses before school on March 6 and 8 while also providing sign ups for new members to potentially join for SAVE Promise Club. Additionally, “Trusted Adult” signs were given out to teachers to put in their classrooms, Say Something information videos played in the cafeterias during lunch periods, and students and staff signed the Say Something pledge banner outside the cafeterias, Adams said. 

“We are proud to say that LT fully supports the efforts of SAVE Promise Club and the programs of SHP which are fully embedded into the fabric of the school,” Callahan said.