NEWTOWN, CT – DECEMBER 19: Mourners enter St. Rose of Lima Church for the funeral of Charlotte Bacon, 6, December 19, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. Six victims of the Newtown school shooting are being honored at funerals and visitations across the state today for the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School. (Photo by Allison Joyce/Getty Images)
Friday would have been Charlotte Bacon’s 7th birthday. She was one of 20 students killed in the Sandy Hook massacre.
In her memory, yesterday eight Charlotte Bacon Act of Kindness Award recipients were chosen from more than 500 nominations.
The winners came from as close as Newtown, Monroe and New York, and as far as California, Ohio, Wisconsin and Texas.
The eight top winners were: Sara Casey of Ohio; Natalie Horn, Lindsay Dievert and Shannon Jackman for their Chain of Love, from Newtown; Ariana Pensy of Wisconsin; Alyson Oleyar and Laura Crowley of Monroe; Caren Ulcak of Austin, Texas; The Cousins That Care from New York; Sonali and Mano Ranaweera of California; and Marcus and Andreas Josaitas of California.
The awards are part of the non-profit group Newtown Kindness, formed by Newtown resident Aaron Carlson following the Newtown tragedy. He hopes the Charlotte Bacon awards will become an annual affair.
