A San Diego businessman will match a $2,500 prize awarded to a local school for its efforts to stand up against gun violence, cyberbullying and teen suicide.
Earlier this week, Steele Canyon Charter High School won a national grand prize awarded by the Sandy Hook Promise (SHP), an organization that empowers parents, schools and community organizations on how to prevent gun violence before it happens by advocating for mental health and early prevention programs.
The school won first place in the organization’s 2nd annual “Say Something Call-to-Action Week” for its efforts spearheaded by English teachers Jennifer Serban and Jillian West, along with 80 student ambassadors. Last October, the group planned special activities and educational events and produced videos for school-wide broadcasts that encouraged critical dialogue about preventing gun violence.
On Monday, SHP director Nicole Hockley – mother of 6-year-old Dylan Hockley, one of the children killed in the Sandy Hook massacre in December 2012 – visited Steele Canyon Charter High School to present the prize, including the check for $2,500 and a plaque.
On Tuesday, Mike Hancock, owner of Mike’s Metal Works, Inc., and president of the Steele Canyon Charter High School governing board, announced he will match the SHP prize. He will present his check to the school at a board meeting Wednesday evening.
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Hancock is hoping to keep the support for the school rolling.
He’s challenging other San Diego businesses to make financial contributions of equal or greater amounts to Steele Canyon Charter High School in hopes of helping the school expand its program, and replicate the model at other local schools so students can learn to identify the signs of gun violence and teen suicide before it happens.
