Sandy Hook Promise's New PSA 'A Teddy Bear's Dream' Takes a Stark Look at the Effect of School Shootings on Childhood in America Today

Associated Press

10-03-2025

Public Service Announcement Launches on the Heels of Two Confirmed Averted School Shootings
Sandy Hook Promise releases new PSA, 'A Teddy Bear's Dream'
The organization confirms it's stopped 18 credible planned school shootings attacks – including two in less than a month in 2025
New study finds 8 in 10 parents feel the threat school violence is affecting childhood today
NEWTOWN, Conn., March 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A staggering 80% of parents feel that the ongoing threat of school violence has affected the childhood experience in America today.* This growing concern comes as the gun violence epidemic continues to be the leading cause of death for kids in the United States. In its latest public service announcement (PSA) launched today, 'A Teddy Bear's Dream,' Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) uses an iconic symbol of innocence and comfort – a teddy bear – to underscore that childhood doesn't have to be this way – and that school shootings are preventable when you know the signs.
This year's PSA centers around the notion that kids deserve to be kids and teddy bears belong in children's arms – not at shrines and memorials in the aftermath of school shootings. The PSA opens with a sweet story told through the eyes of a teddy bear imagining its life with the little girl who carefully picked it out at the store. However, audiences quickly learn that the teddy bear's fate isn't for the life of happiness and cheerful moments that you'd imagine. An impactful reveal shows this teddy bear was instead purchased to be placed at a memorial for a school shooting.
This dark image has become synonymous with shootings that happen too often in U.S. schools. Following the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012, more than 60,000 bears were sent to Newtown, CT – so many that a storage facility was required. These comfort objects, meant for playtime and companionship, have since become a go-to object placed at memorials. In the PSA, the viewer will witness images of multiple shrines from numerous tragedies, including piles of teddy bears outside of Sandy Hook Elementary, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and Robb Elementary among others.
The PSA is set to 'Best of Friends' from the Disney classic film, 'The Fox and the Hound.' The song captures the essence of childhood companionship and offers the perfect narrative to the story highlighted within the spot.
Sandy Hook Promise worked with its long-time partners, BBDO New York, SMUGGLER Production, and award-winning director Henry-Alex Rubin, to bring this new PSA to life. Their collaboration over the past few years is responsible for the viral and Emmy Award-winning PSAs 'Teenage Dream' and 'Back-to-School Essentials,' and multiple award-winning 'Evan.'
'Being on this journey to drive change with Sandy Hook Promise has been such an honor for BBDO. It's now been about a decade working together and we're still steadfast in our commitment to educate people to prevent school shootings,' said Chris Beresford-Hill, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer at BBDO. SHP's PSAs have engaged millions of viewers in understanding the importance of recognizing warning signs to prevent school shootings and gun violence and won a combined 29 prestigious Cannes Lion awards, two Emmy awards, and more than 300 other industry awards.
Prevention is Possible: Two Planned Shootings Stopped in Less Than a Month
Since its inception, Sandy Hook Promise has been at the forefront of educating youth and adults on how to prevent school violence, shootings, and other harmful acts through their innovative Know the Signs programs and have proven that prevention is possible. In fact, Sandy Hook Promise announced today that they recently helped prevent a planned school shooting in Florida after more than 40 tips about threatening social media messages were submitted to the National Crisis Center of the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System, a program of Sandy Hook Promise. Following an investigation, authorities determined the 14-year-old student had access to a weapon, made a threat, and had a plan for carrying out an attack. They have been charged with threatening communications or threats of a mass shooting.
The announcement of this most recent averted school shooting in Florida comes just weeks after the organization thwarted a shooting at Mooresville High School in Indiana. Sandy Hook Promise's Know the Signs programs and Say Something Anonymous Reporting System have played a critical role in stopping at least 18 credible planned school shooting attacks to date, as well as countless other acts of violence, suicide, and self-harm. Strict criteria are used to assess a prevented attack, including the presence of a clear threat and plan, access to a weapon, and where the initial information came from.
'All across this country, there are tragic stories we will never hear about because a brave upstander recognized warning signs and did something to prevent a violent act,' said Nicole Hockley, co-founder and co-CEO of Sandy Hook Promise, and mother of Dylan, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. 'Each of those stories are young lives saved and a community shielded from the trauma of gun violence.'
'Preventing school shootings and other acts of gun violence is possible when there's the education to recognize warning signs and engage a trusted adult to help. Through our programs and resources, we are building a culture of care, cultivating the next generation of upstanders, and creating safer schools and communities for all children to thrive. We each have a role to play in preserving childhood innocence and ensuring a teddy bear stays just that – an enduring symbol of childhood innocence and imagination,' Hockley continued.
A Need for More Education and Awareness
Nearly 40% of parents think about the possibility of a school shooting or safety threat at their child's school on a weekly or even daily basis, with almost half considering it monthly.* This highlights the pervasive anxiety school violence creates in families.
'Parents in the U.S. are reporting increased levels of anxiety and fear about the potential for violence happening in their children's school. This fear is based in a very real and saddening reality, with 2023 and 2024 having the highest incidents of school shootings ever recorded,' said Mark Barden , co-founder and co-CEO of Sandy Hook Promise, and father of Daniel, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. 'Solutions exist, we just need more people to know how to proactively prevent a devastating tragedy.'
To date, more than 31 million people nationwide have participated in Sandy Hook Promise's lifesaving Know the Signs programs. The Know the Signs programs are available to every school and youth organization on-demand and at no cost.
A Commitment to Action
Sandy Hook Promise is committed to ensuring life-saving programs that educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence get the attention and support they deserve. To watch the PSA and learn more about Sandy Hook Promise's mission and programs, visit sandyhookpromise.org/teddybear.
*KRC Research conducted an online survey (n=1,000) of parents of kids 0-17 (all parents aged 18+). The study was fielded between February 4-9, 2025.
Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) envisions a future where all children are free from school shootings and other acts of violence. As a national nonprofit organization, SHP's mission is to educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes, and communities. Creators of the life-saving, evidence-informed 'Know the Signs' prevention programs, SHP teaches the warning signs of someone who may be in crisis, socially isolated, or at-risk of hurting themselves or others and how to get help. SHP also advances school safety, youth mental health, and responsible gun ownership at the state and federal levels through nonpartisan policy and partnerships. SHP is led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.