John,

In the months after my sweet little Daniel was murdered, I'd tell myself that he was just away at a friend's house.

I'd pretend Daniel was still alive just to make it through the day.

It would give me enough strength to reply to emails or cook dinner without breaking down in tears. It helped me forget – even just for a few hours – my new, horrible reality: that Daniel was murdered in his first-grade classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary, and he was never coming home.

Life without Daniel is filled with an almost unbearable agony. Even now, almost eight years later, just seeing his picture physically hurts. I can feel it in my bones.
That's why – even though it's excruciating to relive the nightmare of Daniel's death every year on Dec. 14 – I'm pushing through and doing everything possible to prevent other parents from feeling this unrelenting pain.

Right now, that means reaching our fundraising goal by Sunday, but we're still falling very short. So please, will you donate now to help us protect more children from gun violence?

Please donate $10, or as much as you can, to Sandy Hook Promise right now. Your tax-deductible gift will help make sure we can protect children from gun violence and prevent another tragedy like Sandy Hook.

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Pretending Daniel was still alive turned into a habit – and it became so easy it started to scare me. When I asked my counselor if it was normal, they simply told me, "There is no normal. There are only hard days to get through."

Every day without Daniel is harder than the last. It never gets any easier, no matter how much time goes by. But your support keeps me going. I know that together, we're carrying on Daniel's legacy every day that we push forward in this work to protect children from gun violence.

Thank you for all you do to make that possible – especially during this difficult time of year.

Jackie Barden (Daniel's mom)


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Sandy Hook Promise Foundation
PO Box 3489, Newtown, CT 06470, United States

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