This morning I have the privilege of speaking with a group of high school students about how to create safer, better connected schools. But first, allow me to awaken you to some chilling statistics.

Over 160,000 students skip school every day for fear of being bullied. 840,000 teenagers skip school at least once per month for fear of their own safety. The percentage of high school students who said they often felt lonely increased from 26% in 2012 to 39% in 2017. And finally, 100,000 kids carry a gun to school every day.

Rachel’s Challenge creates safer, better connected schools. The organization receives hundreds of messages from kids every year saying, “I was going to kill myself until I heard Rachel’s story. Thank you.”

We can change this, if we are willing. Let’s be willing…