Born out of a tragic school shooting, March For Our Lives is a youth-led movement dedicated to promoting civic engagement, education and direct action to eliminate the epidemic of gun violence.

Regrettably, the U.S. Senate wrapped the final session of 2022 without voting on a federal Assault Weapons Ban. As they returned to their families to celebrate the holidays, March For Our Lives sought to remind both elected officials and voters that for too many families, the holidays would never be the same because of massacres like Sandy Hook Elementary, Stoneman Douglas High School and Robb Elementary.

A holiday film released three days before Christmas and on the fifth day of Hanukkah. In a classroom, the empty bullets rain down creating the iconic melody Carol of the Bells. Without graphic detail, it sent a chilling statement that resonated with young Americans. In this season of giving, the greatest gift our children deserved — was action.

In a grade school classroom, empty bullet casings fall in slow motion. As each strikes the floor, the high-pitched, metallic sound pierces the visual nightmare seemingly at random — until the moment you begin to pick up the melody of a notable Christmas song. As the bullets bounce and roll between the backpacks and jackets, a cut paper snowflake floats into the final scene.

On December 22, the film was posted on all .org social platforms and used as the central component of a year-end fundraising email campaign.

Musically, the real magic of the whole piece was creating the melody to match Carol of the Bells, but not giving it away too quickly. And while in the public domain, no one had ever arranged and composed this holiday classic with an instrument of death.

As a single social post on December 22, the film earned 130K impressions on Instagram. And emailed as part of the year-end giving campaign, it generated donations exceeding year-end fundraising goals.