Mahalo to Choose Love Movement Founder Scarlett Lewis

I would like to share an incredible experience in which I was blessed with the opportunity to personally present a copy of Stuck on Aloha to Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement Founder Scarlett Lewis last Friday at Kanoelani Elementary School.

Photo by Dawn O'Brien

The Choose Love Movement began after her son Jesse lost his life along with classmates in the 2012 Sandy Hook tragedy. Jesse left behind three words on a home chalkboard – "Nurturing Healing Love" that changed her world and led her to create the Choose Love Enrichment Program for students in Pre-K through Grade 12 that is spreading in schools across the country and other countries around the world.

The Choose Love Enrichment Program is designed to create safer schools and a more peaceful world by teaching children to "Choose Love". Kanoelani Elementary School Principal Stacie Kunihisa has incorporated the Choose Love Movement formula that teaches and embraces the following Principles – Courage, Gratitude, Forgiveness, and Compassion.

The Choose Love Enrichment Program has spread throughout the Kanoelani campus and is making an impact by building a Choose Love culture that is growing and being perpetuated beyond the classroom.

On Friday, I joined a group of invited guests that included Scarlett Lewis, Maya Soetoro-Ng who is the sister of President Barrack Obama, Kelley Oshiro and Dawn O'Brien representing the Choose Love Movement in Hawaii schools, and invited guests representing the Waipahu District School Complex that visited a few classrooms, a Q&A session that also included student Choose Love Ambassadors in the school library that was followed by lunch in the school cafeteria.

It was an incredible day. We were all exposed to the inspiring hard work by the Kanoelani Elementary ohana that is changing the culture and spirit of a traditional classroom setting by instilling the Choose Love Movement principles with Aloha that will hopefully become a part of the education experience in Hawaii.

I am extremely honored for the opportunity to have featured three Kanoelani Elementary student Choose Love Ambassadors along with 60 messages from their second and fifth grade classmates in our Stuck on Aloha book. The students expressed their feelings and thoughts about the importance of learning and following the four principles of the Choose Love Movement in a chapter dedicated to them.

Thank you to Principal Kunihisa for including me on Friday, a day I will never forget. .I am truly grateful for the opportunity to present Scarlett with a copy of Stuck on Aloha. Scarlett represents the love for her son Jesse and the words and bravery that his spirit is delivering to the world through her tireless, heartfelt, blessed efforts with every day

"Nurturing Healing Love"