no one should have to lose their best friend

{NAME}, "Grab a book. Maybe it will help." Those were the exact words my best friend, Helena, said to me when a gunman with an assault weapon started shooting into my history class at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. I held one up. It helped me feel a little better, like I was safer. A group of us were huddled by a big bookshelf, clamped tightly together, as the gunman kept shooting through the rectangular window of our classroom door. Movies don't really depict how scary and horrifying that sound truly is. I got hit twice: One bullet ricocheted off my chest, and another grazed the right side of my torso. I saw one of my classmates die just a few feet away. And then, a bullet hit Helena as she was trying to shield me. She was selfless – I wish she had been more selfish. In the days that followed, I was completely in denial that my best friend was gone forever. I kept thinking she was playing a joke on me, and afterwards, we would just laugh together about everything that had happened. I couldn't help but wonder why I'm still here – why I was able to make it out when almost a quarter of my class didn't. But now, I know my purpose is to honor Helena by working to prevent anyone else from having to watch their best friend die right next to them. That's why I'm working alongside BAWN to ban assault weapons like the one used to murder 17 of my classmates and educators. And I really need your help right now. Our end-of-month deadline is tonight at midnight, but we're still way behind our critical $20,000 goal. We really can't afford to fall short if we're going to fund a massive outreach effort to press Florida lawmakers to finally pass a lifesaving ban on assault weapons. So please, in honor of Helena and the other 16 members of our MSD family who were senselessly murdered with a weapon of war, I'm counting on you to rush whatever you can spare today. This is the only way to make sure a massacre like this never happens again: [Please, make a donation of $3 or more right now – every dollar you can give before tonight's midnight deadline. Your support will directly power BAWN's mission to ban assault weapons in Florida for good and protect our loved ones from gun violence.]( If you've saved payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [DONATE $3 NOW](3D%3D/?g=s6CjEFNw52herQyp4C3X9CA) [DONATE $10 NOW](3D/?g=s6CjEFNw52herQyp4C3X9CA) [DONATE $25 NOW](3D/?g=s6CjEFNw52herQyp4C3X9CA) [Donate another amount]( We're supposed to be safe in our schools. No one should have to walk into their classroom and wonder, "Where's my escape route?" Your support today will help create a world where no one ever has to again. Thank you so much. It really means the world. Samantha Grady Parkland Survivor Alumna, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School This email was sent to {EMAIL}. [To unsubscribe from this email list, please click here.](3D%3D/?g=s6CjEFNw52herQyp4C3X9CA) Paid political advertisement paid for by Ban Assault Weapons NOW 6619 S Dixie Hwy #148, Miami, FL 33143