How We Intend to Implement Our Mission
We intend to educate the public by holding panel discussions in the community, through the press by letters and advertisements, and through various features on our website. We intend to advocate by communicating with legislators, attending and testifying at committee hearings and town hall meetings and again, through the media and press. We intend to seek practical solutions and to help implement them by working with our schools and local governments.
Panel Discussions: We would like to form panels throughout the state. Each panel will be unique. Every panel will focus on one or more of the issue we have outlined in our Mission Statement. Each panel will be composed of Virginia Tech parents, members of the Virginia Tech panel, elected officials, law enforcement, members of the community and experts in the field. We hope to hold the panels in various venues: schools, churches, community centers and halls.
Letters: While we intend to write letters to our newspapers and legislators, we encourage all of you to write also. The more our legislators and papers hear our viewpoint, the more it will help sway public opinion.
Website: We will do our best to update and add information as it becomes available. We will also provide links to those sites we consider helpful.
Advocacy: During the General Assembly session, we will attend hearings and testify. When the legislature is out of session, we will meet with legislators to advocate our point of view and draft bills for consideration. We again encourage all of you to do the same.
Practical Solutions: We are in the process of working with others to implement practical solutions, for example hotlines for young people to call in if their friend is in trouble, timely notification by universities to students of emergencies on campus, counseling centers, and seminars for teachers and police officers to learn about troubled individuals. Any ideas are more than welcome.
Advertising: We intend to place ads both in print newspapers and on-line to reach a wide audience. We believe ads are an effective tool in education and advocacy.
Fundraising: To implement our goals, we need to raise funds from private donors and other sources. We are in the process of working on an annual cabaret with music, dance, poetry and song to commemorate Reema and to raise funds. We will also seek funds through private foundations.