Playground honors Sandy Hook hero
I found this story too late to post in LBN, but it was very nice. I always felt horrible for Neil Heslin whenever he spoke about the son he lost.
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http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/Playground-honors-Sandy-Hook-hero-5452409.php#photo-6258049
Playground honors Sandy Hook hero
Martin B. Cassidy
Updated 11:26 pm, Sunday, May 4, 2014
STAMFORD -- After nearly an hour of musical and other tributes to Jesse Lewis, his mother, Scarlett Lewis, spoke to the large crowd Sunday in front of a new turquoise and yellow playground at West Beach.
She thanked firefighters, city officials and the wider Stamford community for embracing her son and family.
Lewis said Jesse, who has often been described as a hero for his actions during the Dec. 14, 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, left behind a written message on a chalkboard in their family home with the three words -- "nurturing," "healing" and "love."
Those words continue to guide her, Scarlett Lewis said.
"Although we've lost a precious part of our family, we've gained all of you," said Lewis who still lives in Newtown. "We feel your love and are forever grateful."
Under a cloudless sky, Lewis, her sons, J.T. and David, along with Jesse's father, Neil Heslin, cut the ribbon on the long-awaited playground built in honor of Jesse McCord Lewis, one of the 20 first-grade students killed at Sandy Hook.
During the ceremony, the crowd looked up to see a plane pulling a banner with the message, "Choose Love." Two horses brought to the beach for the ceremony could be heard occasionally whinnying.
When the time came, dozens of children clambered up the walkway of the new jungle gym, as the Rascals' "It's a Beautiful Morning," played. Some of the children clanged a bell within the play set, inscribed with "every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings."
Earlier, families gathered around the horses, who were brought to represent Jesse's love of the animals. Several other emblems of Jesse's favorite things, including toy soldiers and rubber ducks, embellished the playground and the surrounding area.
Several speakers marveled at Jesse's courage. During the massacre, he emerged from the closet in which he had been hiding and yelled for his fellow students to "run!"
After presenting special Sandy Ground Project windbreakers to the Lewis family, Carlos Soto, the father of first-grade teacher and Sandy Hook shooting victim Victoria Leigh Soto, addressed the crowd. Victoria Soto is also considered a heroine for her actions, having died trying to shield her students and been honored with a Presidential Citizens Honor Medal.
Jesse "was right next to her, trying to help everybody to get out safe, and I know today they are up there looking down at us saying, `What a beautiful playground, this is,' " Soto said. "I know they love it and they can't wait for us to cut the ribbon and let the children play."
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn, pointed to a green figurine of a U.S. Army infantryman -- part of the playground -- before asking the crowd to join him in applauding firefighters, military veterans and others for their bravery.
"We're here today because you've kept us free and given us the freedoms to say whatever we wish and worship as we please," Blumenthal said. "And that was Jesse, too."
The new playground is part of Sandy Ground: Where Angels Play, a program that is building 26 playgrounds across the state in memory of the students and six educators killed by Adam Lanza in the massacre.
Stamford schools, businesses and organizations put up nearly $60,000 toward Jesse's playground, including about $22,000 raised in a Stamford Public Schools fundraiser that collected pennies from students, said Gina Aiello, chairwoman of the Stamford project.
"Stamford has done me proud, and I'm honored to be part of this community," Aiello said. "If we can all continue to be heroes ourselves by making a conscious effort to spread his message and choose love every day, what a better world this would be."
Work on the playground began Friday morning and was largely completed by Saturday afternoon, reflecting the efforts of hundreds of volunteers over the past year to get the project done, said William Lavin, chairman of the Sandy Ground Project.
Stamford Mayor David Martin presented Lewis and Heslin with lifetime beach stickers, and called the playground a "precious gift."
"I am hoping this playground will provide a symbol of hope and recovery, a memory of Jesse and a gift to our children, to enhance and sustain their precious childhood," Martin told the family. "This loss is something that I don't know if I could take it. But I thank you for what we've received as a result of what the tragedy was."
Lewis said the finished result really captured her son's ebullient and open nature. She said she hoped to visit regularly, to watch kids using the playground and to think about Jesse.
"It far exceeds any of my expectations," she said. "It is wonderful ... and I know (Jesse) would love it."
= new reply since forum marked as read
I especially love hw the money was raised with pennies from students.
You should X-post that to GD ...seriously.
You should also X-post that to RKBA ......