Mandie Balderaz's 8-year-old son was inspired to create his own memorial on his New Braunfels, Texas front lawn.
Courtesy Mandie Balderaz
A 9-year-old girl's condolences —
When Stephen Kales told his daughter the news, she went into her room and created these memorials.
Courtesy Stephen Kales
Instead of birthday candles —
Jennifer Wallace's son replaced his 12 birthday candles with 27 tea lights in honor of those lost in Newtown.
Courtesy Jennifer Wallace
Christmas light memorial —
Ryan Emrich rearranged his house's Christmas lights to memorialize the 27 lives lost in Newtown.
Courtesy Ryan Emrich
A first grader's t-shirt —
Katie Ayala helped her son, Aaron, make a t-shirt to show his support for the victims. On the back of the shirt, they put a tree with Newtown's "core character attributes" they found on the school district's website, including "respect" and "caring". Aaron's first grade teacher, Mrs. Botino, died suddenly a few months ago and he was affected greatly by her loss, Ayala said. "When he learned of the Newtown tragedy, the first thing Aaron said to me was, 'Heaven must have needed teachers to take care of the of the children killed.' He then said, 'I wish they surrvived but Mrs. Botino will take care of them.'"
Courtesy Katie Ayala
Tribute on the beach —
Donna Gusavitch took her two boys, ages 6 and 8, along with her friend's two boys, to Jones Beach in Wantagh, New York., to make a memorial for the victims. They picked out 20 angel ornaments for the children killed, along with seven doves for the adults. "We all held hands and we each said a prayer. My friend's 11-year-old son wrote 'Pray for these angels' in the sand. A piece of me died that Friday."
Notes for Noah —
Megan Miller, a nanny in Alexandria, Virginia, was inspired by Ann Curry's online campaign to do 26 acts of kindness for each of the 20 children and six adults killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School. For her first act, she passed out candy to strangers in honor of Caroline Previdi. For her second, she is collecting thank-you notes for veterans and returning soldiers.
Courtesy Megan Miller
A promise to remember —
Mike Kirouac and his wife bought 27 flags they plan to place on their lawn every December 14.
Courtesy Mike Kirouac
A poem for the lost —
Within an hour of hearing the news of the shooting, Deepthy Alias was moved to write a poem in tribute.
Courtesy Deepthy Alias
'Wrapped in love' —
Shane Read is a graphic designer in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. As a father of two, he said he was moved to design this graphic showing that the spirit of America "is still here." He said: "I wanted to ... share it with everyone and give them a means to visually illustrate and share their love for Newtown and all those affected. Right now, it's a simple image on social media and it has been shared a humbling amount of times. It's doing its job for the 26 from Sandy Hook Elementary."