February 8, 2008

New York, NY – Ten years ago this February, Daniel Gross marked the anniversary of his younger brother Matthew being critically wounded in a shooting rampage atop the Empire State Building by launching a nonprofit to protect other families from gun violence.

Daniel was the youngest-ever partner at the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency when a 69-year-old Palestinian man opened fire on the observation deck of the Empire State Building, wounding seven people – including Matthew Gross – and killing Matt’s friend, Christoffer Burmeister. On February 23, 1998, with Matthew at his side, Dan announced he was leaving the corporate world to launch PAX/Real Solutions to Gun Violence.

Over the last decade, PAX has grown into the largest – and one of the most effective – non-lobbying groups working to prevent gun violence. Unlike organizations that focus on the political debate surrounding guns, PAX focuses on public health and safety solutions to gun violence.

“In the last ten years, the number of young people in America dying each day from guns has dropped from eleven to eight,” said Dan Gross. “But eight kids dying every day is a tragedy of epic proportions, especially when almost all of those deaths are preventable.”

PAX’s two groundbreaking national campaigns, SPEAK UP and ASK, give all Americans practical tools to keep their families and communities safe.

SPEAK UP features the first-and-only national hotline, 1-866-SPEAK-UP, for students to anonymously report weapon-related threats in their schools and neighborhoods. PAX started the bilingual hotline in response to the fact that in four out of five school shootings, attackers tell other students about their plans beforehand. In five years, the hotline has received more than 20,000 calls.

ASK (Asking Saves Kids) was launched in 2000 in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics. Based on the fact that 40% of homes with children have a gun, with many left unlocked or loaded, the ASK campaign urges parents to ask about guns before sending their children to play at someone's home. Over 19 million parents have begun asking, making conversations about gun safety a routine part of good parenting.

“Through PAX, we’ve tried to take a tragedy and turn it into a powerful and lasting good,” said Dan Gross. “PAX is now committing to use the tremendous momentum we’ve built over ten years to cut the number of youth gun deaths in half in the next five.”

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