Hi John —

My name is Aalayah Eastmond, and I’m a survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting in Parkland, Florida. In a moment, I’m going to ask you to make a $5 donation to Brady to help them hit their most important fundraising goal of the year, but first, let me explain why your donation today is so important.

Nearly three years ago, on that gruesome, nightmarish day, I was in my Holocaust history class wrapping up a presentation on hate groups.

Before I had the time to comprehend that a horrific massacre was happening — that the pops I was hearing were gunshots — my classmates were being shot and killed in front of me. At first, I assumed the red pooling on the floor was paint from a paintball gun. But then, I smelled the smoke and gun powder.

In front of me, my classmate fell over, and I wedged myself underneath his lifeless body until the bullets stopped flying around me. As the shooting moved away from my classroom, I hid behind a filing cabinet and called my parents. I gave them my last goodbye, telling them how much I loved them and my brothers — because I thought I was going to die.

It’s hard to relive that day and the weeks that followed. But one thing is clear: No family should ever have to go through what my family and I went through. The truth of the matter is that this wasn’t the first shooting my family had experienced. My uncle had been shot and killed years ago when he was just 18 years old.

Gun violence can happen to anyone, but minority communities like mine bear the heaviest burden of this horrible epidemic. That’s why I fight with Brady to put an end to America's senseless epidemic and work toward common-sense reforms we know will save lives. It's also why I’m asking you to fight alongside me to make sure Brady reaches their $100,000 end-of-year match goal:

I’m personally asking you, John, will you give $5 to Brady — every dollar you can spare — and triple your impact to end America's gun violence epidemic, defeat the NRA, and take action on common-sense gun safety reform that will save lives?

I’ve had enough. Far too many lives depend on taking action on common-sense reforms like universal background checks and an assault weapons ban. That’s why 2021 is so important and why Brady's work is so important. We have a real opportunity to heal the wounds of our Black and Brown communities, end our country’s gun violence epidemic, and prevent tragedies like Parkland — but only if Brady has the resources we need to make those changes.

I hope you'll join us in this fight today, because it's the only way we can make sure we end this senseless violence. Thank you.

Aalayah Eastmond
Parkland survivor
Brady Team ENOUGH Executive Council Member