Picture the person or people you hold most dear -- their awkward jokes you can always predict, their knack for cooking your favorite dessert, or their infectious smile across the room.

Take a moment to think about all the families who will have an empty chair at their dinner table this holiday season. The holidays are a vulnerable time for a lot of families and communities who still feel marked by loss and emptiness in the wake of gun violence, but they’re also a time to pause, refocus our values, and renew our commitments.

As we’re reminded of the insurmountable losses we’ve seen over the years, it’s a time to reflect on how we can begin to heal and build a world where families don’t spend the holidays mourning loved ones lost to gun violence. Which is why I’m writing to you today, John.

In the spirit of family, love, and loss, one of our donors has generously offered to match all of our Giving Tuesday donations up to $100,000. I’m giving you a heads up in advance because any donations given now through midnight next Tuesday will be matched.

I know how hard it is to carry this trauma. Many of my classmates, administrators and thousands of others will not have a seat at the table this Thanksgiving. And that is a tragedy. Full stop.

And so we must take the time we need to rest. We must take the space for self-care -- to log out of our emails, go dark on social media, and reboot for a minute. But then, we must keep moving forward. There is a world waiting for us -- one where our children don’t have to live in the same fear we do, where we elect morally just leaders who do right by us, where we’ve eradicated the root causes of gun violence, and passed legislation protecting our right not to be shot.

That world is out there. Now let’s create it together.
Wishing you a happy, healthy, and whole holiday, John.

David Hogg

Founder & Board Member
March For Our Lives