Rachel's Challenge

Background Statement

One month after the Columbine tragedy Darrell Scott was asked to speak before a Congressional Subcommittee on School Violence. Those in attendance expected his talk to revolve around gun control. To everyone's surprise, the message Darrell shared was that guns are only a symptom of the problem. The root issue is really what we are, or more accurately are not, teaching our children. His assertion was that when we stop teaching character, caring and integrity, right from wrong, we are creating environments within which Columbine-like incidents can occur. The speech instantly became an internet sensation; striking a chord with millions of people. Soon Darrell was getting requests from all over the country to tell Rachel's story; which he quickly discovered is a powerful antidote to bullying and violence in schools.

Less than a year later, Darrell and his wife Sandy started Rachel's Challenge. Their intent was to honor Rachel's life and help prevent other families from going through what all of the Columbine families had endured. Their focus was telling students how Rachel deliberately reached out to those who were different from her, new to school, picked on by others, or just lonely.

After her death many of the kids to whom Rachel reached out approached the Scott family with stories about the profound impact her simple acts of kindness had on their lives; even preventing one young man from taking his own life. Darrell and Sandy soon realized that Rachel's story is transformational to many who hear it. It is a true, simple, pure story that routinely elicits an intense personal experience, awakens our innate need for connection with others, acts as a catalyst for inexplicable instant change, and creates an overwhelming desire to act and make a difference.

Today, Rachel's Challenge exists to make schools safer, more connected places where bullying and violence are replaced with kindness and respect; and where learning and teaching are awakened to their fullest. Rachel's Challenge has a comprehensive set of age-appropriate programs for K-12, college and business. The objectives of these programs are all the same: to continue Rachel's legacy of kindness and compassion and;

-Create a safe and productive learning environment by delivering proactive antidotes to violence and bullying

-Stimulate real culture change by actively involving the entire "community" in the process

-Change lives by providing culturally relevant socialemotional training

-Improve achievement and ensure results by engaging the participants' heart, head and hands