PRESENTATIONS
Powerful stories of tragedy and triumph
Buck never wanted to be a professional speaker. Same with most of our victim/survivors who bravely share their stories in order to help others. But nothing penetrates the human heart and head like a true story, told by those who lived it, so we do it to bring change. L>h has impacted hundreds of audiences in prisons, schools, businesses, conferences, universities, police academies, rehab centers, and community groups. We use Jessie’s murder and other people’s experiences with violence and resilience to educate, inspire and motivate others. The purpose? Transform violence into healing, through Love and Forgiveness. Presentations are tailored to any audience.
A MESSAGE FROM JESSIE
The story of Jessie Blodgett’s life, her violent death, her legacy project, and a father’s journey of survival and overcoming. Told by her dad, the story is graphic and disturbing, but rich in profound messages of Resilience, Purpose, Healing, Love, and Forgiveness. This life-changing call to action challenges listeners’ personal growth and community engagement to END interpersonal violence
Forgiving The Unforgivable
Hear Dr. Buck Blodgett’s radical and purposeful reaction to the murder of his daughter by a friend. This program begins with a 10-minute Sentencing Statement that shocked a community and launched a movement. It continues with a powerful AMA (Ask Me Anything), a real-life, practical-application conversation designed to empower, inspire, and free us from the past to move forward in peace. What do you do when life punches you in the gut? We all experience trauma, many little ones, and some very big ones too. We can’t always control what life sends our way, but how we react when bad things happen makes all the difference. A deep dive into forgiveness training and the core questions that determine our ability or willingness to forgive: Why should I (they don’t deserve it)? How do I (I can’t)? Who is forgiveness really for? What is it actually?” “What is it NOT?
THE F-WORDS
Forgiveness. Faith. Fruitfulness. Fortitude. This four-part, faith-based series is one man’s spiritual journey following the brutal rape and murder of his daughter. Meant for churches, the state prison system, or any group, “The F-Words” is a personal journey, told from a Christian perspective, through scripture, but open to all, because the world’s diverse religions mostly boil down to one profound truth: the most unstoppable and transformative force in this universe is Love.
TESTIMONIALS
What our supporters are saying
Never in all my years as a principal have I witnessed an entire student body of 1400 sit so completely silent and absolutely captivated for 35 minutes straight. Never have I seen 700 young men cooperate, stand, and speak in unison, proudly, eagerly, to take a Pledge. Never have I seen 700 young women break out in spontaneous applause. And faculty too! This was a life changing Assembly. This was deeply moving and powerful. This was education at its finest. The LOVE>hate Project needs to present in every high school in America. Then they would see their vision of shifting culture, causing change, ending male violence against women, and increasing Love, tolerance, empathy, and respect realized!
Buck’s presentation was one of the only ones I’ve ever participated in where every student, from the best behaved to the most antsy and distractible, was fully engaged. It was wonderful to see our students truly moved by another person’s story…many of them were able to truly feel empathy for Jessie, her family, and for all victims of abuse. This is so important for our teens to practice…every school would benefit from this presentation.
When Buck spoke, I saw 130 students cry, laugh, be inspired, engage in conversation and begin to plan their role in spreading love, not hate.
I watched a room filled with leaders hang on every word. Not one person was looking at a cell phone, or looking out the window, or daydreaming. Everyone was engaged listening to this powerful story. They asked questions. They stayed after to talk to Buck. A Message from Jessie is for any organization looking to inspire leaders or help people grow.
Awe-inspiring. Thank for your message of your love, hope, forgiveness, and encouragement. You change lives for the better and Jessie continues to touch others. Thank you for sharing her story and calling [others] to action to make a positive difference in our world.
Jessie’s messages sit deep in my soul…so many young men and women who need to hear your message…a true inspiration and model of resilience.
Powerful…meaningful…touched my heart.
FANTASTIC job once again. Your ability to reach and connect with our offender population has been amazing to me. I couldn’t be prouder of the inmates and how they show their respect back to you and engage in meaningful conversations.
One hundred inmates and staff heard Jessie’s story during our Annual Victim Awareness Celebration…overwhelmingly inspiring and moving…in church the next day, one of the inmates asked the group to pray for all their victims and families. Thank you [L>h]…your pledge was heard and accepted here!
If it wasn’t for you and your story, I would never have come forward and I’d still be fighting this internally. You are making a big difference and a big impact on people. Please don’t ever stop doing what you’re doing. You’ve changed my life in the best way possible.
PROGRAMS
Changing the world—one survivor, one offender, and one community at a time
Our programs are designed to profoundly impact hearts and minds, locally, and globally. We are a message organization, not a service organization. The message is simple: END interpersonal violence through Love and Forgiveness.
MEDIA OUTREACH
To realize our ambitious Vision—zero tolerance for interpersonal violence by the end of the century—the message of LOVE over hate must permeate cultures everywhere. We use podcasts, TV, social media, radio, and print media to continually expand our reach and impact, and share Jessie’s story and mission with the world.
Jessie Blodgett Music Scholarship Program
One day, several months after Jessie Blodgett’s murder in 2013, her grieving mom was looking through all her stuff, as she often did, the things she had saved from Jessie’s K-12 school years. Joy found Jessie’s 11th grade Lit notebook, and browsing through it, she found this quote. As far as we know, no one had ever seen it:
“Music is a universal language, a uniting art, a WAY to change the world.”
For Jessie, music was not only her passion and her gift. It was bigger than that. Music was her Calling. It was the way she was going to make her mark in life. She saw music as her vehicle, her WAY to change the world.
Joy texted the quote to Jessie’s dad, who added it to her legacy project’s original program, “A Message from Jessie.” The quote is now memorialized on the music room wall in one of our state prisons, because the inmates there were so moved by Jessie’s story and music.
This scholarship was created to fulfill Jessie’s dream of impacting the world through music.
Prison Program
Hurt people hurt people. Data tells us that over 90% of the PIOC (People In Our Care, our inmates) experienced domestic and/or sexual violence themselves, as victims, before becoming perpetrators.
At LOVE>hate we believe that transforming culture and ENDing interpersonal violence must begin with healing past trauma, providing care and resources for both victims and perpetrators, including the incarcerated. If we do not provide caring transformational resources to help them heal at a core level, how can we expect different behaviors and outcomes when they are released?
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OUR PARTNERS
Thank you for your commitment to non-violence and LOVE
