2018 NJ State PBA
Main Convention
Mallory’s Playground
Mallory’s Army and the Where Angels Play Foundation
pair up to build a gift that will keep on giving
■ BY AMBER RAMUNDO
A strong blue line formed behind Dianne Grossman as she
took the stage at the NJ State PBA 2018 Convention with a group
of youth leaders dressed in blue Mallory’s Army T-shirts.
Much like the organization that Grossman and her husband,
Seth, founded to combat bullying — especially cyberbullying —
the students behind her made up an army of their own. They
represented “We Dine Together,” a program to promote inclu-
sion at Boca Raton Community High School.
When Grossman heard about the group’s mission to bring
students of all backgrounds together at lunchtime to ensure
that nobody has to eat alone, she invited them to join her when
she once again shared her powerful story with law enforcement.
“We are an army dedicated to making change,” Grossman
said of the mission that unites her and the students.
Most PBA members know how Grossman’s crusade to end
bullying through Mallory’s Army began. But the story nev-
er gets easier to hear, as Grossman shared the tragic events of
name-calling, isolation and cruel posts on social media that led
her 12-year-old daughter, Mallory, to commit suicide.
“I don’t ever want anyone to feel the way I do,” Grossman
explained as the reason for why she created Mallory’s Army.
“We are the ingredient. Each one of you are raising children who
hold the ingredient of success for our children at school.”
The PBA’s connection to Mallory’s story began when the NJ
State PBA Hockey Team dedicated one of its games to raise
funds for the cause in December 2017. That game, in addition
to multiple donations made by the State PBA and Locals across
the state, raised more than $27,000 for Mallory’s Army.
“What can I do with this money, and how can I honor every
single one of you?” Grossman asked the audience. “What better
way than to share my story and how, together, we can make a
difference.”
Grossman then proudly shared an impactful project that the
NJ State PBA helped fund: creating a Mallory’s Army documen-
tary that will be shown in schools across the country. But Gross-
man’s opportunity to turn a tragedy into something beautiful
doesn’t stop there.
“The PBA just keeps getting better for me,” Grossman stated,
before explaining the new partnership that began when NJSP-
BA President Pat Colligan introduced her to NJFMBA Past Pres-
ident Bill Lavin, founder of the Where Angels Play Foundation.
“We’re going to build a playground so that my angel can play
forever.”
The Where Angels Play Foundation began in 2012, in re-
sponse to the mass shooting that took the lives of 26 students
and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown,
Connecticut.
“That was probably the lowest point of my entire life,” admit-
ted Lavin, who remembered what it was like to hear the news
of the shooting in the midst of trying to help rebuild after the
destruction of Hurricane Sandy. “I got this crazy, wild idea that
38
NEW JERSEY COPS
■ OCTOBER 2018
Dianne Grossman thanks the NJ State PBA for supporting Mallory’s Army.
Where Angels Play Foundation founder and NJFMBA Past President Bill
Lavin shares how building playgrounds in memory of children has changed
his life.
maybe we should build playgrounds to celebrate the lives of the
children that were lost.”
In just 19 months, Lavin and volunteers built 26 playgrounds
and raised more than $3 million. Each playground’s design was
dedicated to each child’s likes and hobbies, so that they would
never be forgotten. There are now 49 Where Angels Play play-
grounds across the country, plus Canada and Rwanda.
After listening to Mallory’s story, Lavin knew that another
angel needed a playground. This time, the project would be in
Saugerties, New York, where Mallory spent so many summers
camping with her family.
“Here is Mallory, the beautiful young lady who will never be
forgotten because her mom and dad refuse to let her be forgot-
ten,” Lavin confirmed. “I never met Mallory, but through Seth
and Dianne, I feel like I know her, and she’s telling us that we
need to build this playground.”