2,000 Sky Lanterns to Launch in Portland to Honor Sandy Hook Victims

A Berlin mother is leading an effort to fill the night sky with bright sky lanterns as a gesture of healing for the 26 victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December.   

The event is called “Light the Sky With Light and Love,” and it is scheduled for Sunday, June 9, at the Exchange Club Fairgrounds in Portland. Viewers who come will be able to see roughly 2,000 lanterns sent up into the air, by a pyro-technician, as a way to recognize those affected by the school shooting last year.

“We’ve had a lot of support from many of the families, and the Acts of Kindness Organization is coming out,” said Berlin resident Alysiah Robinson, the event coordinator.   

Robinson said the idea all started back on Dec. 14 when her son, Jordan, came home from school and went straight to the TV to watch the coverage of the tragic shooting that claimed the lives of 20 elementary school children and six educators in Newtown.   

Jordan had just turned 10 only a few days before, and after Dec. 14 he decided to take his birthday money and purchase a case of sky lanterns. They thought they would launch the lanterns as a symbolic gesture for the victims.   

“It was supposed to be 26 sky lanterns with friends and family,” Robinson told Patch.   

But, as The Middletown Press reported, the family told some friends about it on Facebook and word got out. Now, the family has garnered nearly 2,000 of these biodegradable lanterns through donations and other people across the world will be launching these lanterns the same day, Robinson said.   

Apart from the gesture, there will be donations garnered from the event via wristbands and admission fees. According to the group’s Facebook page, all of the proceeds will go to four organizations: the Lion's Club in Newtown to benefit the first responders, the Victoria Soto Scholarship Fund, the Catherine Hubbard Animal Sanctuary, and The Art SHACK in Sandy Hook, a healing arts center for kids in the community.   

Shuttle buses will be available for this event via three locations in Portland: Stor-U-Self Storage, Brownstown Intermediate School and Gildersleeve School.   

For more information visit www.lighttheskyct.com.