Take "Rachel's Challenge" in Honor of the 10th Anniversary of the Columbine Killings

On the 10th anniversary of the Columbine tragedy, the parents of student victims reflect on the lives of their lost children, who would have been adults by now. But one of the students who lost their lives that day, a 17-year-old girl named Rachel Scott, lives on—in spirit, if not in flesh.

Rachel, the first victim murdered on April 20th, 1999, was a kind and compassionate young woman. When a classmate felt embarrassed for showing up to a costume party for wearing a Zorro costume his mother had made for him one year, she offered to switch costumes with him. And in an essay on ethics written just months before her untimely death, Rachel wrote, “I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go.”

Rachel and 15 other people lost their lives on that tragic day. But despite all of the pain, Rachel’s family has spent the last decade creating a greater meaning from her death, transforming her words into action. Raise money for this purpose and other purposes.

Rachel’s mother, Beth Nimmo, has written books and given speeches about her daughter’s life and Christian beliefs. Her father, Darrell Scott, a former pastor, has spoken before Congress and in schools throughout the country about his daughter’s life and values. He founded a nonprofit organization in Rachel’s name, Rachel’s Challenge , which is dedicated to preventing teen suicide and tragedies like Columbine by bringing speakers to more than 1,000 schools across America to speak out against bullying and school violence. Darrell and his son, Craig, who was an eyewitness to the murders, are frequent speakers at these events.

Following the school presentations, the organization issues “Rachel’s Challenge” to everyone in attendance, asking them to be kinder to one another. The organization helps communities form their own “Friends of Rachel” clubs to create an environment of caring and compassion.

So far, Scott’s plan seems to be working: "We've seen a lot of lives changed from her story and our program, Rachel's Challenge, has touched literally 13 million lives over the last ten years,” Scott said on the Today Show .

In the space of eight months, Scott has also received more than 100 letters from teenagers, telling him that they had decided against suicide because of the message he delivered to their classroom.

“I meet a lot of hurting students out there and I share with them my hurtful story, but I'm not just carrying a sob story around,” Scott said. “I'm trying to share with them some of the things that I learned to get through it and to be a better person because of it.”

How you can help : To help honor the legacy of Rachel Scott and the other innocent victims of the Columbine tragedy on its 10th anniversary, make a donation to Rachel’s Challenge to help fund school programs to prevent school bullying, violence, and teen suicides. Take it a step further by commiting to taking Rachel’s challenge: To treat all with kindness and compassion, and help to build a global movement of goodness.