Stories

Avielle Rose Richman | Mass Shooting

Avielle Rose Richman (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Hensel)

SODINA’s initial story is in honor of Avielle Rose Richman. Her mother Jennifer Hensel and father Jeremy Richman, started The Avielle Foundation in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. They are both scientists and felt a deep need to understand what contributes to violent behavior. It is through this need to understand, that the Avielle Foundation is funding research in brain health to better understand violence and to promote the building of stronger communities.

‘Our daughter was one of 20 students and 6 educators murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT on December 14th, 2012.

This child was everything to my husband and me. She was the essence of spirit, hope, and love. She loved her family, her friends, and animals. She sang and hummed so much so that her narrative of life was often in song, whether she was singing to us, or humming and singing to herself while engaged in play. She loved to cook with her mom, run with her dad, develop imaginary worlds with her friends, she rode horses, ice skated, she dreamed of one day becoming an artist, she played with her cats and her dog, and snuggled into bed with her parents at night for a regular span of reading books. How does one encompass in written word a child, a loved one? It is difficult to list her many lovely qualities. She was empathetic, kind, and felt no one should be left alone, or out of the circle, and would invite strangers to play. She was whip smart, and so poignantly funny that her parents would often laugh out loud many times a day.

Ask yourselves, what did the world lose when this child was murdered? She could have been a doctor, a teacher, a best friend to someone in need. She could have changed the world. She changed ours, and those who knew and loved her know that emptiness now, acutely and strongly felt were her daily gifts. And now we are left feeling her unrealized potential, shattered and aching to hold her, to smell her, to hear her tinkling laughter, to converse with her. Ask yourselves, what does the world lose when a child is murdered? A community leader? A teacher? A doctor? A scientist? A good parent?…’

– Jennifer Hensel

Calls to Action:

The Sodina Project shares stories to foster connection and save lives. This grass-roots movement needs your help in connecting with others. Please share the stories and blog posts with your friends and social networks if they have moved you or made you reflective. You will find sharing options at the end of each post.
Please visit The Avielle Foundation to learn about and support the they are doing in Avielle’s memory. You can also visit our brain health page to learn about The Avielle Foundation and other brain health related organizations.

If you have a story to share about the death of a loved one as a result of violence, please submit your story here .

Sodina | Voices to Stop Violence

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