Dear Bucket Fillers,
We are sending this special letter as we join you in mourning the loss of life from Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut. We find it difficult to adequately express our deep sorrow for those who were personally affected by this tragedy. Our bucketfilling work has taken us into many schools and to think that something like this could take place in any one of them is difficult to comprehend.
Bucket fillers instinctively want to help others; they want to provide light in the darkness. In addition to feeling such deep sadness and offering up prayers, I reflect and wonder: Is there anything else we, as bucket fillers, can do? Two things come to mind:
1) We can remember that a bucket represents a person's mental, emotional, and social health. People with empty buckets are likely to feel extremely sad or extremely angry. If it is possible to help fill these empty buckets, that could help relieve a great deal of the pain and lessen the likelihood of a tragedy. Not everyone with an empty bucket will hurt other people or themselves. However, some people whose buckets are empty, regardless of the reasons, may reach the point there they physically harm themselves or others.
2) Whenever we have feelings of sorrow for another, we can communicate our sorrow. Shared tears and empathetic expressions of sympathy and support help people through grief and loss. That's what bucket fillers do. We attend funerals. We send cards, letters, and flowers. We hold memorials. We somehow find a way to let others know that we care.
For those of you who would like to communicate your compassionate thoughts and feelings and/or support to the families of Sandy Hook School, we provide the following addresses:
Sandy Hook School PTSA
12 Dickinson Drive
Sandy Hook, CT 06482
Sandy Hook School Support Fund
c/o Newton Savings Bank
39 Main Street
Newtown, CT 06470
United Way of Western Connecticut
Sincerely,
Carol McCloud and the Bucket Fillers Team
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