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Rakeeb Watson
Sebastian Guyton
Kimber Mills
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"Trees For Peace"

​National Youth Violence Memorial Initiative

The Youth Peace & Justice Foundation’s nationwide Trees For Peace and National Memorial Wall initiatives honor young people lost to gun violence and other forms of physical violence in the United States.

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Our mission is to create lasting places of remembrance while advancing awareness, healing, and efforts to prevent future violence against young people.

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September 2026 Memorial Wall Update

The foundation continues to research and develop its proposed National Youth Violence Memorial Wall.

 

During the fall and winter of 2026–2027, we plan to begin contacting potential host cities to explore opportunities to bring this lasting memorial to life.

 

Austin, Texas; Laguna Beach, California; and Boston, Massachusetts, are currently being considered as potential host cities.

 

These locations remain under consideration, and no final host-city selection is being announced at this time.

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The foundation continues to raise funds for the project and develop potential artistic concepts and wall designs for consideration.

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We appreciate everyone who supports this effort to remember young lives lost to violence and help build a future in which fewer families experience such loss.

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What Is the Trees For Peace Initiative?

Trees For Peace is a national living memorial initiative honoring young people whose lives were lost to violence. Through memorial tree plantings, the foundation seeks to create places of reflection, remembrance, and hope for families and communities.

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The foundation works through third-party memorial and reforestation partners to arrange memorial tree plantings.

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Through these partnerships, the foundation purchases memorial plantings and designated locations, while the partner organizations coordinate planting through their established reforestation and conservation programs.

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These memorials offer a meaningful way to honor a young person's life while contributing to the broader work of reforestation and conservation.

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Local​

In addition to national forest plantings, the foundation works, when resources and family wishes permit, with families, municipal leaders, and community organizations to explore localized memorial tree plantings.

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These efforts are intended to provide families and communities with additional opportunities to remember loved ones closer to home.

 

Through the broader Trees For Peace initiative, the foundation seeks to combine protected natural spaces for remembrance with opportunities to establish lasting local memorials in communities affected by youth violence.

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DONATE TO THE TREES FOR PEACE PROJECT HERE

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A Living Memorial for Young Lives Lost to Violence

The Trees For Peace Student Violence Memorial Project seeks to plant memorial trees in the nation's national forests in honor of students and other young people lost to violence in America.

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Each memorial represents a life that mattered, a family forever changed, and a community that deserves opportunities to remember and heal.

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The initiative is also intended to serve as a catalyst for public awareness, community engagement, and legislative action addressing gun violence and other forms of violence affecting young people.

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The foundation's work combines remembrance with a commitment to protecting the next generation.

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Statement From Founder Daniel Chapin

“We're not just planting trees. We're planting hope. Each tree is a testament to a life that mattered, a future stolen, and a community's resolve to heal and prevent such tragedies from ever happening again.

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Our efforts cannot stop at memorializing the dead. They must propel us forward to demand the change needed to protect the living.

 

We are committed to ending the reign of terror on our youth, and that includes advocating for a statewide and future federal ban on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines.

 

These are not tools for hunting; they are instruments of mass murder. This program is our living testament to the urgency of that change.”

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The National Youth Violence Memorial Wall

All young people memorialized through the Trees For Peace initiative will also be listed on the proposed National Youth Violence Memorial Wall.

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The Memorial Wall is being developed as a complementary part of the foundation's broader memorial initiative, creating another way to recognize the lives lost and preserve their names for future generations.

MORE HERE

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Never Forget...

February–October 2026

 

The following names are listed as part of the foundation's memorial initiative. The list should be maintained in accordance with verified records, family wishes, and any necessary corrections.

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  • Alexzandria Bell

  • Ramone “Red” Carter

  • John Thomas

  • Diego Esparza-Avila

  • Javen Welcher

  • Ross Anthony Whitt

  • Evin Alberto Herrera

  • Amari Cooper

  • Kane Roldan

  • Elias Yanez

  • Kimber Mills

  • Lizzell Sarahy Palma Villeda

  • Elijah Wells

  • Sabestgen Guyton

  • Rakeeb Watson

  • Kaleb Blumberg

  • Eric Simmons III

  • Nathan Lopez

  • Alexander Borgen

  • Deven Borgen

  • Brandon Dominguez

  • Diamond Moore

  • Daniel Sublasky

  • Emily Finn

  • Maya Lupian

  • Journey Rose Reotutar Guerrero

  • Amari Peterson

  • Michael Allen

  • Hamid Boyd

  • Chikylah Richardson

  • Cameron Graham

  • Ella Cook

  • Mukhammad Aziz

  • Donovan Metayer

  • Jamar Jerome

  • Emony Nicole Jackson

  • Brenden Watkins

  • Lil’raylin Harrison

  • Ricardo Acevedo

  • Camila Olmos**

  • Isaiah Atkinson

  • Nolan Carroll** (2024)

  • Noah Juan Auburn Tracy

  • Anthony Gallegos

  • Johan Adaree-Sanchez

  • Jonathan Henry Gordon-Charles

  • Melissa Castrejon

  • Josselin Dayana Corea Escalante

  • Isaiah Ramos-Bostwick

  • Matthew Milner

  • Jazariah Del Toro

  • Lucas Long

  • Traveiah Houfmuse

  • Tyjon Stewart

  • Jayda Pearl Mabrey

  • Da'Mar McKinney

  • Tasean Brown

  • Santino Gonzalez

  • Christian Angulo

  • Mason Schermerhorn

  • Ryder Harrington

  • Savitha Shan

  • Ethan Colfax

  • Louis Anthony Boone

  • Kailon Price

  • Harryson Anderson

  • J’Mauri Smarr

  • Jeremiah Carter

  • Ava Little**

  • Lilly Bova

  • Amir Akers

  • Jayla Elkins

  • Shayla Elkins

  • Kayla Pugh

  • Layla Pugh

  • Markaydon Pugh

  • Sariahh Snow

  • Khedarrion Snow

  • Braylon Snow

  • Martha Odom

  • Ezekiel “Rudy” Almazan

  • Deven Antonucci

  • Avianna Smith-Gray

  • Javon Townsend

  • Destiny Lawson

  • Nasir Majied

  • Wilfredo Garcia

  • Adrian Yancey Titsworth Jr.

  • Di'Zhon Robertson

  • Charlotte Ghekiere

  • Landon Ghekiere

  • Owen Ireland

  • Chloe Ireland

  • Ashley Intihar

  • LePaul Warren

  • Sha’michal Russell

  • Caleb Flax

  • Edamari Chacon

  • Kyrie Stone

  • Isiah Stone

  • Amari'anna Stone 

  •   Rhoam Summer (As of October 2026, Rhoam is now recorded as the youngest school shooting victim in the USA since 1966)

  • Mina Kurdian

  • Andrea Eguia

  • ​Steven “Buddah” Carroll Jr.

  • In Memory of Amanda Karolkiewicz and her children, Ella and Caroline, both 11 years old and adopted from China, are also remembered. The family included four sons, ages 15, 12, 11, and 5.

*Amanda and her children lost their lives in Grand Haven, Michigan.​

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** The foundation identifies the following individuals as lost to firearm suicide:

  • Camila Olmos

  • Kimber Mills

  • Rakeeb Watson

  • Sebastian Guyton

 

Memorial names and circumstances should be confirmed against the foundation's verified records before publication.

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International Youth Violence Memorial

In Honor of the Young People Lost in the Tumbler Ridge School Shooting — British Columbia, Canada, February 2026

The foundation also recognizes young people lost in the Tumbler Ridge tragedy through an international memorial section.

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  • Abel Mwansa

  • Ezekiel Schofield

  • Kylie Smith

  • Zoey Benoit

  • Ticaria Lampert

  • Emmett Jacobs****

**** Lost at a connected residence.

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Remembering the Lost. Protecting the Living.

 

There was a single, heartbreaking tragedy that first spurred our mission and created a rallying cry for the nation to protect its children.

 

Since then, the nation has continued to experience devastating acts of violence, and the faces and names of those lost continue to grow.

 

Among them are a promising ballerina whose pointe shoes will forever remain still and a heroic cheerleader whose final act of organ donation gave life to others in the shadow of her own death.

 

Their stories, and the stories of every young person remembered through this initiative, remind us why this work matters.

They will never be forgotten.

 

Help Build a Lasting Memorial

Your support helps the foundation pursue its Trees For Peace memorial plantings and develop the proposed National Youth Violence Memorial Wall.

Every contribution helps advance a mission centered on remembrance, compassion, and the prevention of future violence.

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DONATE TO THE TREES FOR PEACE PROJECT

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