8th Grade Students Design Anti-Gun Violence Shirts With Victims' Names

They asked local community members, elected officials and students to join them on March 14 when they plan to walk out of school and spend 17 minutes in silence… one minute for each of the 17 people killed in Parkland, Florida.

"I just want everyone to realize how often this has happened, and how many people have been affected by it," said 8th grader Stephanie Danahey.

Danahey and two of her friends, Elliot Guinness and Izzy Carabetta, came up with an idea to sell T-shirts to raise awareness about gun violence. On them are the names of victims of some of the worst mass shootings in the United States.

They include, Columbine, the Las Vegas shooting, the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando and the most recent one in Parkland, Florida. The students say designing them was an emotional experience.

"It was so many names, I had no idea. I was typing them all and was on the verge of tears. I was really sad. I felt like really connected because that could be one of us," said Carabetta.

The students say they've already raised more than $2,000 and plan to donate it to the Giffords Law Center to prevent gun violence. They hope their walk out and T-shirts will send a message that their generation wants something done about gun violence.

"We can't vote, but we can use our voices and our voices are very powerful," said Carabetta.