Rachel's Challenge visits Brookville

BROOKVILLE, Pa.--Rachel Joy Scott was the first of 12 students killed in the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School.

Her father, Darrell Scott, created Rachel's Challenge to carry on her beliefs and spread the message of compassion and anti-bullying.

Brookville School District students in grades three through 12 first learned the history of Rachel.

The program is based on five challenges that come from the writings of Rachel. She wrote six diaries and several journals. A bullet was lodged in the diary she had with her at the time of her death.

The five challenges are: Look for the best in others, dream big, choose positive influences, speak with kindness, and start a chain reaction.

"A lot of times we talk about what kids can't do and what they're not suppose to do," Nasha Snipes, a Presenter with Rachel's Challenge, said. "You can be kind and compassionate, so it's giving them a license to do something."

Brought into schools to address problems such as bullying, discrimination, and school violence, Rachel's Challenge provides a solution to those problems.

Many students at Brookville signed the posters and accepted the challenge.

"I didn't really know about the Columbine shootings so it was really informative on that and I didn't know about the people who were in it or their stories behind it," Luc Doolittle, student at Brookville, said.

"I learned the five different steps and how to start a chain reaction of kindness," Calvin Doolittle, student at Brookville, said.

At 6:30 p.m. on Wed., an awareness program will be presented to the community in the high school auditorium. It will share information about the program and how the community can become part of the effort.

"The community event is more towards the parent's perspective and it gives them the opportunity to have a conversation with their children about these issues," Snipes said. "Parent's will see what their kids saw but from a different perspective."

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