The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘Not mine to accept alone’
Sandy Hook father wins $50,000 prize
NEWTOWN — A father who co-founded a national nonprofit after losing his son Daniel in the Sandy Hook shootings has been awarded a $ 50,000 prize for using “the power of life experience to build a better future.”
Mark Barden, co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise, was named one of five Purpose Prize award winners Tuesday by the American Association of Retired Persons.
Barden and Sandy Hook Promise co-founder Nicole Hockley — who also lost her son Dylan in the 2012 shootings — are two of the most visible faces of pain and purpose to emerge in the aftermath of Connecticut’s worst crime.
On Tuesday Barden said he was honored to be acknowledged for the work Sandy Hook Promise has done, but the award “is not mine to accept alone.”
As Sandy Hook Promise has grown into the premier school violence prevention organization of its kind in the country, Barden has strived to honor his child’s spirit at press conferences and charitable events by being honest about Barden’s depth of pain, and his reason for hope.
“I think the decision to try to bring some good out of this, and prevent other families from living through this pain, comes with it the aspect of vulnerability,” Barden said. “It’s the only way I can tell my story.”
The CEO of AARP agreed.
“I commend this year’s AARP Purpose Prize winners and fellows for their dedication and commitment,” Jo Ann Jenkins said in a prepared statement. “These older adults inspire and show us how our own life experiences can be used to find creative and innovative solutions to help others and make a difference in communities across the country.”
In addition to Barden, four other award-winners were honored: Cindy Eggleton, co-founder of a Detroit organization that builds family centers in needy neighborhoods; Hope Harley, president of the Bronx Children’s Museum; Arturo Noriega, founder of a nonprofit that provides entrepreneurial education to the traditionally underserved in California; and Susan Tachau, co-founder of a group that helps people with frailties to acquire ‘assistive technology devices’ in Pennsylvania.
Barden and the award winners were honored for “using their knowledge and life experience to solve tough social problems.”
Sandy Hook Promise, which develops free programs to help schoolbased communities identify when a teen is threatening harm before violence happens, was in the headlines three weeks ago, when a suicide prevention bill it helped to write passed the House of Representatives.
The money that goes with Barden’s prize will be donated to Sandy Hook Promise. A virtual awards ceremony is planned for early December.
Barden said being open about the transformative promise of pain that doesn’t go away helps others shoulder their own burdens.
“I guess pain and suffering is something we all share to some degree or another,” Barden said. “Pain is a touchpoint. It’s relatable and allows people to tap into that struggle.”