Marcellus Senior High School Accepts Rachel’s Challenge

“I want to start a chain reaction of kindness that ripples around the world.” Rachel Scott was the first person killed in the Columbine High School tragedy on April 20, 1999. The words above were written in her diary in the weeks leading up to Columbine and reflect her compassion and vision. After her tragic death, Rachel’s father, Darrell Scott, began the Rachel’s Challenge initiative to help actualize Rachel’s goal of creating a chain reaction of kindness. The Rachel’s Challenge initiative came to Marcellus Senior High School on December 16, 2010 for a day of intense and meaningful assembly programs and training workshops. The mission of the Rachel’s Challenge program is as follows:

“We exist to inspire, equip, and empower every person to create permanent, positive, cultural change in their school, business, and community by starting a chain reaction of kindness and compassion.”

Colleen Kirk, from Rachel’s Challenge, facilitated the Marcellus visit which included two assembly programs for students and staff, a Rachel’s Challenge training workshop for students, and an evening presentation for families and community members. The assembly presentations are designed to create the desire or “want to” while the training workshop is designed to provide the “how to”. The December 16, 2010 evening program wove together powerful Columbine video footage, interviews with families and friends, and visionary excerpts from Rachel’s six diaries. Presenter Kirk urged the audience to accept the five challenges that reflect the vision of the remarkable young woman that was Rachel Scott:

· Challenge 1 – Eliminate Prejudice: examine your life to see if your thoughts, feelings, or actions are showing prejudice. Look for the best in others or as Rachel wrote “Give people at least three chances.”
· Challenge 2 – Dare to Dream: Write down your goals and your dreams and keep a daily journal.
· Challenge 3 – Choose Positive Influences: What you watch and read have an effect on your life. Reevaluate what influences you are allowing into your life. Once again, quoting Rachel’s writings: “Don’t let your character change color with your environment. Find out who you are and stay true to your color.”
· Challenge 4 – Start a Chain Reaction of Kindness: Kind words and little acts of kindness have very huge results, “Compassion is the greatest form of love humans have to offer.”
· Challenge 5 – Tell all those that you love what they mean to you.

More than 65 students attended the afternoon training session and vowed to accept Rachel’s five challenges. Interested students, along with members of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), the Character Education committee, Student Government, and Teen Institute have formed together to form the Friends of Rachel (FOR) club. The goal of the club is to provide the “how to” for the “want to” that was inspired through the December 16th Rachel’s Challenge visit. Colleen Kirk, from Rachel’s Challenge, shared a drawing of a hand that Rachel had drawn as a young teen. Within the hand were these words, “These hands belong to Rachel Scott, and will someday touch millions of people.” The Marcellus Senior High School educational community has now been touched by Rachel’s hand and is accepting the challenge of kindness.

For more information go to rachelschallenge.org.