Change the ref is an organization dedicated to raising awareness about the epidemic of mass shootings in America. It was created by Manny and Patricia Oliver the parents of Joaquin Oliver, a victim of the Parkland Massacre.
We asked communities all over America a simple question. How do you want to be remembered? Since a mass shooting has occurred in 50 out of 50 states, our cities and towns have become known for these atrocities.
Despite this fact, America still lacks commonsense gun laws. This has been a hard issue to impact inside Congress, mainly because each state has its own laws. So, we had to reach congress one state at a time, by appealing to a sense of civic pride.
Introducing the Shamecards, the first postcard collection designed to demand gun law reform. Subverting the traditional postcard, which depicts each city's famous landmarks, ours depicted that regions infamous mass shooting.
We made these cards available at shamecards.org, where the only thing people had to do was select a postcard, their congress person, and press send to have their postcard and message sent directly to their mailbox.
We also distributed the Shamecards as part of live events held in New York, Boston, Miami, and Los Angeles.
Thus far, we’ve received 1.5 billion impressions, $14 million in earned media, and Representatives Katherine Clark and Ted Deutch joining the effort. And on the anniversary of the Parkland shooting, the day Joaquin Oliver was lost, President Biden released a statement about the Parkland shooting, demanding commonsense gun laws.
It's time. This is not how we want to be remembered.