A memorial for the victims of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Photograph: Robert F. Bukaty/AP Emilie Parker , age six
Emilie loved visiting the craft store, and her family constantly found “beads, bits of paper, colored cotton balls – or anything else Emilie thought she could use to create art – all over the house.” Her family shared a photograph of her next to a canvas with a palette of paints, wearing an enormous t-shirt as an artist’s smock.
The Emilie Parker Art Connection supports art programs. Alissa Parker, her mother, has written a book, An Unseen Angel, about a “faith-filled, spiritual path” to coping, healing and forgiving in the wake of tragedy. She is also one of the founders of Safe and Sound Schools .
Jack Pinto , age six
Jack had a huge smile and a love for mischief. He loved playing sports and, “most of all,” being with his big brother.
To honor his memory, his family has supported Kids in the Game , an organization that provides funds for athletic programs for kids and schools that could not otherwise afford them.
Noah Pozner , age six
Noah loved playing deep imaginative games with his Legos and superhero toys. He went to school in a Batman shirt and Spider-Man shoes , listening to Gangnam Style, one of Noah’s favorite songs, on the way. His twin sister, Arielle, survived the shooting.
In the wake of the shooting, Noah’s father, Lenny Pozner, founded the Honr Network , a group that works to combat the conspiracy theorists who claim the Sandy Hook shooting is a hoax and that grieving family members are “crisis actors”. The Honr Network coordinates volunteers to monitor and take down hoaxer posts and videos. Working with tech companies like Google on this effort has been an uphill battle , one that has made Pozner himself the target of intense harassment. A Florida woman was sentenced to five months in prison earlier this year for making threats against him.
Caroline Previdi , age six
Caroline was “joyful”, a lover of art and dance. Before Christmas one year, she brought her piggy bank to her parents and asked to donate all of her savings to their church to make sure the every kid would have a present under their Christmas trees. At her funeral, some mourners wore pink, her favorite color , to honor her, the New Haven Register reported.
The Caroline Previdi Foundation provides support for kids without financial resources to engage in extracurricular activities.
Jessica Rekos , age six
As well as horseback riding, Jessica spent hours watching the Free Willy movies and taking notes on orcas, her family wrote . “Mom, I just want to be friends with an Orca,” she once said.
Her family wrote, she “was always planning, asking questions, and figuring out the details”. They called her “our little CEO”.
The Jessica Rekos Foundation supports horseback riding scholarships and research and internships on orca and whale conservation.
Avielle Richman , age six
Avielle Richman. Avielle had a “spitfire personality”, her family wrote. She was often barefoot. Asked what she wanted to be, she replied that she would like to be an artist … and a spy … and a fairy princess … and a writer. She loved to name things: the maple trees next to her house were “Efford and Maeve”.
The Avielle Foundation supports “neuroscience research aimed at understanding the brain’s chemistry, structure, and circuits that lead to violence and compassion”, as well as community education and outreach about neuroscience research and its findings, and how to promote brain health.
Benjamin Wheeler , age six
Ben was full of urgent questions that he wanted answered at once. He demanded attention. He loved lighthouses and “dreamed of being an architect, a paleontologist and a lighthouse keeper all at once”.
Ben’s Lighthouse , a community organization in Newtown, was founded to support Newtown youth over the long term as they dealt with the aftermath of the violence at Sandy Hook.
Allison N Wyatt , age six
Allison lined the walls of her home with rows of pictures she had drawn, and she loved drawing for people she cared about, from friends and relatives to her school bus driver. Her family wrote that they had found a final picture Allie had drawn for her first grade teacher, Victoria Soto, who was also killed in the shooting. It had a message: “I love you, Love Allie.”
The Allison Wyatt Memorial Fund has donated to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Ronald McDonald House Charities and International Child Art Foundation.
Rachel Davino, age 29
A behavioral specialist, Rachel had “a clear focus on helping adults and children with autism”, her family wrote, and she had just completed the requirements to become a board certified behavioral analyst. Her soon-to be-fiance Tony Cerritelli had just asked her family for permission to marry her, and they were planning to become engaged on Christmas Eve.
Rachel was working on a family collection of Italian recipes for a family cookbook, and she loved karate, photography, cooking and baking. At a celebration honoring her life, she was compared to The Giving Tree, a Shel Silverstein book about selflessness.
Her friends and family made plans to walk and raise money for Autism Speaks to honor her life.
Dawn Hochsprung, age 47