John, writing emails like this is far from my favorite thing to do, but I have to ask for your help. Brady's life-saving mission is on the line. 

Brady is up against a huge fiscal-year deadline, but they're still falling incredibly short of their fundraising goal. I'm really hoping you can pitch in to have your gift matched and help them hit this goal by midnight — because the urgency of their work is immediate. 2021 is on track to be the deadliest year of gun violence in decades.

It's been almost three and a half years now since my little sister Carmen was murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL — just one week before her 17th birthday. It's difficult to put into words how painful the aftermath of the massacre was for me and my family. I remember the overwhelming emptiness — and how sometimes I struggled to do more than just break down and sob. It's hard to even begin making sense of a tragedy like this, but I do know this for sure: I never want another family to have to go through what mine does.

Brady is leading the fight across Congress, courts, and communities to finally pass the life-saving legislation that would prevent massacres like the one my sister was killed in. My sister was shot four times by a shooter armed with a military-style assault weapon, a weapon of war. A ban on deadly assault weapons could have saved her life — and Brady is fighting harder than anyone to pass that ban. 

That's why it's so important that Brady NOT miss this goal before their fiscal year is over. Every dollar they fall short is a dollar they won't have to fight for students like Carmen, a dollar they can't use to plan for this next year and the fight ahead while we have a real chance at progress on gun reform. So please: Will you give $5 or more right now, before their fiscal year deadline, to help power Brady's work? Every dollar will be DOUBLED by a generous group of donors, but only if you give now.

If I'm being honest, this isn't the sort of path I would have chosen for myself. Activism. Testifying in front of lawmakers. Telling my story again and again and again. But, John, it's something I feel compelled to do — and knowing that the other survivors who run Brady are by my side is a big part of what keeps me going. That, and knowing that if we can pass these laws and make real change, so many people like me won't have to mourn their loved ones. They'll still be alive.

With President Biden and Vice President Harris in the White House and gun safety champions in Congress, I know this is the best chance we're going to get for that meaningful, lasting change. But we still have to fight for it, and Brady is leading that fight.

We don't have much time left to reach our goal before Brady's fiscal year deadline — these next few hours are the deciding factor in how much they can do next year. So I'm personally asking: Will you rush a donation of $5 or more right now and have it MATCHED to go twice as far toward saving lives and ending gun violence?

Thank you for everything you do.

Robert Schentrup
Carmen's Brother & Gun Violence Survivor