Cameron Boyce‘s legacy is living on in a new social media campaign with a powerful message.
In honor of the late actor, whodiedon July 6 from an epileptic seizure,The Cameron Boyce Foundationhas launched its first funded project: a social media campaign calledWielding Peacethat advocates for ending gun violence. In the photo series, people hold other objects as if they were weapons and open up about their personal struggles.
Ben Cope
Boyce had been working on the cause prior to his death. The charity was launched on July 15 in partnership with Refinery 29, and the campaign features other celebrities and victims of gun violence.
Wielding Peace kicked off with images of Boyce and his best friends, Karan Brar and Sophie Reynolds. The second week featuredFive Pointsstar Nathaniel Potvin, while the third week featuredModern Familyactor Nolan Gould.
In his post, Gould, 20, spoke about being “angry all the time as a teenager.”
“My relationship with my family, friends, and the world suffered,” he wrote. “And so I lashed out more. It’s a never-ending loop that continues to amplify the issue. The problem was I lacked a healthy way to express myself, especially since men are so likely to repress their emotions to begin with.”
Continued Gould, “I’ll never forget hearing the first album that changed my life and made me realize that I wasn’t alone; that so many others had gone through what I was experiencing, and that one day everything would blow over. I don’t know what I would have done if it wasn’t for that album. Or for the first roll of film I got developed. Or playing the banjo.”
“These things allowed me to channel my problems and negative emotions into something positive,” he added. “It made me realize that there is always an alternative to violence and aggression.”
Future celebrity participants in the Wielding Peace campaign includes Boyce’sDescendantscostars Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson and China McClain;Black-ishstars Marcus Scribner and Yara Shahidi; as well as Peyton List, Sabrina Carpenter and Cailee Spaeny.
Shutterstock
Boyce’s rep shared his initial thoughts on the project after his death. “I’ve named the conceptWielding Peace. It will be a collection of images that feature people from all walks of life (celebrities, victims of gun violence, common supporters) wielding ‘guns.’ The catch is, the ‘guns’ that we’re using as props will be items that signify unity and peace,” Boyce wrote about the campaign.
“Household items such as musical instruments, cameras, food, sporting equipment, beauty products, articles of clothing… anything that might inspire someone creatively as well as make a strong statement with the sentiment that we need to choose a different weapon,” he added.
They also described their son as the “rock” of their family and their “shooting star.”
source: people.com
