Madison Knoop, a sophomore at Northern Vermont University in Johnson, has been selected for the inaugural Giffords Courage Fellowship group. Knoop will join 27 other students from across the country in the yearlong program.
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to be in the first class of Courage Fellows,” Knoop said. “We have made incredible progress on gun safety over the past year in Vermont. I look forward to sharing my experience with other advocates from across the country and to learning from their work to further curb gun violence and save lives.”
Knoop is politically involved and often volunteers with Giffords-endorsed candidates. In addition to advocating for common sense gun laws in the Vermont State House, she organized the March for our Lives event in Montpelier in March which drew more than 2,000 attendees. She also started a youth-led chapter of Gun Sense Vermont.
Giffords is a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives from gun violence. It’s led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was severely wounded in a shooting, and her husband, Mark Kelly, a Navy combat veteran and retired NASA astronaut.
After the mass shooting in Parkland, Fla., in February, young people across the nation led a renewed push for gun safety laws. To help empower the young advocates, Giffords launched the Courage Fellowship. Students will receive resources and opportunities to help them continue their efforts to improve gun safety laws where they live.
Ranging from ages 16 to 20, Courage Fellows will work together and learn effective ways to advocate for policies that reduce gun violence.
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