Patty Meek
Ceasefire Outreach Board Member Patty Meek staffed a table Feb. 12 at Lester Arnold Alternative High School Parent Teacher Conference Night in Commerce City, giving out gun locks and speaking with young people and their parents about how they can make their homes and communities safer from gun violence.
Volunteering is a great way to make a difference and spread some hope in difficult times! Here’s a note Patty shared about her experience:
Hey, everyone – I want to fill you in about my experience tabling at Lester Arnold.
It was, in a word, marvelous. The day was “conference day;” there weren’t many parents there (which is sadly very typical for high school kids) but I had wonderful interactions with kids…all sorts of teenagers…confident kids, shy kids, all kinds of kids. I probably interacted with maybe 20? And of those kids, I would say that 17 or 18 gratefully selected CC literature, CC buttons, and gun safes.
I had a couple of conversations that really stuck with me. One of them was with a young woman who spoke of her step-dad and how much he would appreciate these, how much her family needed these. I also spoke with a father. When I offered what we had, he replied something like (with a smile), “Oh, no. I don’t need those. My guns are stored in a safe, separately from the ammunition. In fact, I carry several gun locks in my glove box, so I can give them to my friends.”
I spoke with another young woman who had just completed the requirements for concealed carry. I congratulated her and then we talked a bit about her accomplishment, the need for training, preventing gun violence, all of that.
In short, it was, again, a wonderful experience. I left feeling hopeful, that yes, we can have civil conversations and we can find common ground. And the kids? I feel, in my heart, that they appreciated the fact that someone was ‘minding the store’ – that someone was looking out for them, that someone cared and was working for their safety. I felt like we were providing them with hope.
I can’t wait to do something like this, again. It was one of my most meaningful experiences with Colorado Ceasefire (and remember, I have been around Ceasefire since its very inception).
Volunteering with Ceasefire is a great way to spread the word and let young people know that someone has their back when it comes to gun violence. If you’d like to get involved, sign up here!