STUDENTS AGAINST VIOLENCE EVERYWHERE
~ QUICK FACTS

• SAVE is a national, nonprofit organization created by students for students that promotes the virtues of civility and respect by helping students of all ages learn how to care for other people.

• SAVE's mission is to decrease the potential for violence in schools and communities by promoting meaningful student involvement, education and service opportunities in efforts to provide safer environments for learning.

• SAVE:
  • engages students in meaningful violence prevention efforts within their school and community.
    
  • empowers youth with knowledge and skills necessary to provide service to their community and school.
    
  • encourages positive peer influences within the school and community through violence prevention efforts.
    
  • educates students about the effects and consequences of violence as well as safe activities for students, parents, and the community.
    

• SAVE was started by students in Charlotte, NC in 1989 after the tragic death of a classmate who was trying to break up a fight at an off-campus party. A group of students who did not want this death to be "just another statistic" took action and created a violence prevention program.

• SAVE chapters are student-initiated and student-run with the help of adult advisors.
• SAVE members take the lead in planning chapter activities by using the 3 SAVE Essential Elements of conducting crime prevention and conflict management activities, as well as providing meaningful service through projects in schools and communities. SAVE chapters also plan violence prevention rallies and awareness campaigns, hold pledge drives against violence, and conduct fun and educational meetings.

• SAVE members in middle and high school provide outreach through cross-age and peer-to-peer teaching strategies. These older students act as role models and mentors for younger students in area elementary and middle schools or other organizations by supplementing classroom or after-school lessons using the SAVE Essentials Toolkit curriculum and even starting SAVE chapters in these schools or community-based organizations.

• SAVE responds to the challenges that face every community in helping their youth gain the skills, experience and confidence they need to face life, manage conflicts peacefully and become productive contributors to the country's future.

• SAVE holds an annual National SAVE Summit where students share with one another what they are doing in their schools to prevent conflict and violence and participate in interactive workshops. The organization recognizes SAVE chapter students and advisors who have been instrumental in promoting safety and nonviolence in their school and community at an awards ceremony during the Summit.

• SAVE has evolved into a national association with chapters in elementary, middle, high schools, colleges and community agencies nationwide.