Rachel's Challenge Comes to Parsippany

Thursday was an emotional evening at , which featured a presentation on Rachel's Challenge, a nationwide effort to inspire kindness in the U.S. 

Students at and Parsippany Hills high schools viewed the presentation during in-school assemblies. A Thursday night screening was offered for parents, and more than a hundred people were present--including students who wanted to see the video again.

The project was launched in honor of Rachel Scott, the first person killed in the Columbine High School massacre in Littleton, Co. The Apr. 20. 1999, mass shooting left 13 people dead in all and was the worst school shooting incident in U.S. history.

Using a video presentation, facilitator Mike Walker told the story of Rachel, a 17-year-old girl who grew up wanting to make a positive difference in the world and who made it her business to show kindness to teenagers excluded from the popular set. Just weeks before her untimely death, she wrote a school essay that listed five challenges for making the world a kinder place.

Rachel's family found her essay, and her father and stepmother, touched by her message, decided to share her challenges with the world. In the process, they founded Rachel's Challenge. More than a decade later, group speakers visit schools and organizations across the country to present Rachel's challenge and to enlist kids in the movement to create kindness.

1. Look for the best in others. Walker said that doing so will eliminate prejudice and bias.
2. Dream big. According to Rachel, writing down one's goals is the first step toward putting them into action.
3. Choose positive influences. It was noted that had the boys who experienced the bullying the led them to launch an attack on Columbine High would have been less likely to express their pain through violence if they had had more positive influences.
4. Speak with kindness. Walker said that Rachel wanted people to realize that words can hurt or heal. Rachel, according to family and friends, would target special needs kids, new students and those who were bullies' victims and offer them acts of kindness.
5. Start your own chain reaction. Rachel's essay talked of how each act of kindness sparks another. Walker talked about the possibility of creating a paper chain, with each circular link representing an individual kind act. He challenged the high schools to create a paper chain long enough to connect the High and the Hills.

Parsippany Superintendent of Schools LeRoy Seitz said the program, which came to both township high schools this week, will fit in perfectly with the school system's commitment to putting an end to bullying.

"Rachel's Challenge is great addition to our efforts to stop acts of harassment, intimidation and bullying," he said.

Chapters of Friends of Rachel, a group committed to living out Rachel's' five challenges, will be established in both of Parsippany's high schools.

Kelsey Bradley, 17, president of the Par Hills senior class, attended the assembly during the day and returned to school for the evening event.

"Mike inspired everyone at our school. That's why so many people came back tonight and brought their parents," she said. "Being involved with student activities, I spend a lot of time with other students. Seeing them come together and feeling the unity when everyone has an emotional connection, really meant a lot to me. Rachel's message really hit home."

Kelsey said that she noticed a change in her fellow students after they attended the Rachel's Challenge assembly.

"We've been talking about bullying a lot this year, and Rachel's Challenge goes along with it. This can blossom into something great and make a real difference, like Rachel wanted," she said, adding that while the anti-bullying talk can sometimes seem repetitive and kids may seem put off by the topic, "we do realize that it's a problem and we do want to make things better for all students."

Kelsey said the kids who take part in Rachel's challenge can be role models that show the importance of kindness.

"Hopefully we can make that chain reaction," she said.