BCW: Change the Ref’s Joaquin’s First School Shooting

Gun violence recently surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of death for American children, but politicians are unwilling to implement a ban on assault weapons or enact tougher gun laws.

There have been at least 160 mass shootings across the US as of April 2023, with 48,830 people dying from gun-related injuries in the US during 2021, according to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That's nearly an 8% increase from 2020, which was a record-breaking year for firearm deaths.

Joaquin’s First School Shooting is a children’s book addressing a frequent topic that should never occur—mass shootings—and targets the politicians who refuse to do anything to prevent them.

Aside from being a depiction of tragedy, Joaquin’s First School Shooting is designed to loosen the grip the gun lobby has over American legislators. A total of 300 copies were published in the first edition, and many were hand-delivered to lawmakers by Patricia Oliver, Joaquin’s mother, with the intention of being read by politicians on the House floor.

To further amplify awareness and reach additional audiences, BCW identified select influencers and celebrities to engage with the campaign on social channels to encourage key audiences to send copies of the book to lawmakers.

The campaign garnered 140 multimedia and articles combined, achieving a total of 511+m impressions and reaching 22.7m journalists. Media outreach resulted in a feature on ABC News, with over 70 syndications to markets across the country.