Jonathan Law Student Will Serve On Sandy Hook Promise Youth Board

MILFORD, CT — A Jonathan Law High School student will help plan presentations, projects and events aimed at preventing youth violence as a member of Sandy Hook Promise's National Youth Advisory Board.

Aislinn Burns, a rising senior, was one of 13 high school students chosen for the board out of hundreds of applicants nationwide, according to a news release. She belongs to Jonathan Law's Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) Promise Club, which is affiliated with Sandy Hook Promise.

As a board member, Burns will likely contribute over 300 hours of service, the news release said. She'll work with her SAVE Promise Club chapter and assist with planning the National Youth Violence Prevention Week and the annual SAVE Promise Club Youth Summit.

"SAVE Promise Club helped me learn that I do have a voice and that I have the ability to make a difference if I use it," Burns said in a statement. "Instead of waiting for the future to make a change, I can make a difference in the world right now."

In addition to her work with SAVE, she'll have her own projects and presentations – past board members have organized town halls with local officials and first responders and have testified before Congress, according to the news release.

At Law, Burns holds a leadership position in the Natural Helpers club, a social outreach group that promotes the message of Sandy Hook Promise by creating activities designed to spread warmth, welcome, and inclusivity throughout the school's community.

"Aislinn’s desire to help her classmates feel safe and welcomed is demonstrated through her participation at each meeting, the innovative ideas she brings to the table, and her leadership in executing these ideas on our school’s daily news show and among her peers in the building," Mary Smuniewski, Natural Helpers club advisor, said in a statement. "She is innately kind, friendly, and welcoming, and she is a role model for those around her. Aislinn’s ability to make anyone feel included and at ease is profound, and we are so proud of her determination to make a difference in school communities nationwide."

Sandy Hook Promise is a nonprofit founded and led by people whose loved ones were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012. Its goal is to help children and adults recognize, intervene, and get help for individuals who "may be socially isolated and/or at risk of hurting themselves or others," according to its website.