The Matthew Bellamy Project

ASK: Are there unsecured guns where your children visit and play?

My Son Was Shot at a Sleepover: Heartbroken Mom Speaks Out Ashlyn Melton works with ASK Campaign — Asking Saves Kids — urging parents to ask if there are any unlocked guns in homes where their children play

Congratulations Chapel Hedrick on winning the 2017 Matthew Bellamy Project Scholarship! 👩🏻‍🎓

We love this sweet, beautiful young lady and are thrilled to present her with a $1000 scholarship in Matthew's memory. 💚

It's time once again for our annual scholarship award. North Myrtle Beach High School seniors, stop by and see Ms. Brown for an application. 🎓

These stories still break our hearts. Please read and share these tips on gun safety from Horry County Police Department. And please pray for the family of this precious little boy. We know all too well the dark and lonely days that lie ahead for them.

With great sadness and heavy hearts, our Officers and Detectives worked the untimely death of a 3 year old toddler this week. Our prayers are with the family and everyone who has to endure such tragedy, including our own personnel; however, we would be remiss to not remind everyone of the huge responsibilities associated with owning fi****ms. In this light, we offer our community the following:
•Unattended fi****ms should be stored unloaded and with actions
open.
•The use of gun safes, lock boxes, and gun locks is highly
recommended.
•Firearms should be stored where children cannot reach them or
find them.
•Teach children that if they come into contact with a firearm, they
should:
o Stop.
o Not touch it, under any circumstance.
o Get away from it and leave the area.
o Go tell an adult immediately.
If there is anything the Horry County Police Department can do to help you, where firearm safety is concerned, we are at your disposal.

Today, we celebrate and remember our precious Matthew. 💚

The Matthew Bellamy Project updated their address.

The Matthew Bellamy Project updated their business hours.

We love Eddie Eagle ❤️

Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program The Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program is a gun accident prevention program that seeks to help parents, law enforcement, community groups and educators navigate a topic paramount to our children’s safety. Eddie and his Wing Team are on a mission to help you teach Pre-K through 4th graders what to do if th...

Dear Friends of The Matthew Bellamy Project,
In July 2010, we began this organization as two grieving parents simply hoping to share our story and prevent accidents like the one that took our precious Matthew from us. Over the last six years, The Matthew Bellamy Project has grown far beyond what we ever dreamed or imagined. The support from our community has been overwhelming. We truly believe we have made a difference by sharing our story openly and honestly and by promoting common sense gun safety programs. However, in spite of our passion for what we are doing, it is challenging and often very difficult to do. Repeatedly telling the story of Matthew’s death has taken a toll on both of us emotionally and physically. During this time, we have also dealt with some very personal and often heartbreaking issues with our oldest son. Quite frankly, we're exhausted.

From the day we founded MBP we have trusted God to guide us in all that we do, including the timeline for how long we would continue this work. Over the past several months, we have sensed that it may be time for a change. After many hours of prayer and careful consideration, we have decided that it is indeed time for us to end formal operations of The Matthew Bellamy Project. This has not been an easy decision for us and there have been many tears shed over this. However, we are confident that it is the right choice for our family at this time.

While we have already given up traveling, we do still have several local events planned in September and October, including two more kid’s gun safety classes and distributing gun locks in NMB at the Irish Italian International Festival and the Endless Summer Festival. After that, we will continue to mail out gun locks as they are requested and will continue offering a scholarship (based on a gun safety essay) to a graduate of NMB High School. So while we will not be operating full time, The Matthew Bellamy Project will go on in a much smaller and simpler fashion for some time.

One of the things we will miss the most is meeting so many wonderful people. We have truly been blessed through the experience of The Matthew Bellamy Project. Our prayer continues to be that somewhere along the way, we have said or done something that has saved at least one family from the pain we continue to live with every day. Thank you for your many years of support and encouragement and thank you for your understanding and your prayers as we now shift our focus to our family and our marriage. We will forever be grateful for this experience.

Chip and Mylissa Bellamy

We're grateful to WMBF News for giving us to the chance to share our story and the mission of The Matthew Bellamy Project again.

The Matthew Bellamy Project continues to push for accidental shooting prevention

Thank you WBTW News13 for giving us the chance to talk about gun safety this morning.

Child’s death serves as reminder of the importance of gun safety MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) — The accidental shooting death of a 12-year-old in Florence County hit close to home for Mylissa Bellamy. Her 11-year-old son was killed in an accidental shooting in …

Our hearts are broken to hear of another precious child lost and our prayers are with all involved. Their lives are forever changed.

Adults, PLEASE lock your guns - securely out of reach from children.

Do you need a free gun lock? Call us, we'll even mail it to you: 843-427-4958

Two children shot, one killed in lower Florence County Florence County Sheriff's Office investigators says two children, ages 11 and 12, were shot Tuesday afternoon at a home on Circle Drive in the Coward community of Florence County.Florence County Coroner Keith von Lutcken confirmed that the 12-year-old has

Please join us in thanking our July Sponsor of the Month, Strand Termite & Pest Control:

"Founded in 1968 by "Buster" Dowless & brother Mitchell Dowless, Strand Termite & Pest Control has served Horry & Brunswick Counties with the highest quality customer service and pest control services. We offer a complete line of service to any size establishments from single family & multifamily homes to commercial clients & businesses. Proud members of the BBB, Chamber of Commerce, NPA, NCPCA, SCPCA Home builders Associations we value our community & business relationships. Call us today for professional pest control service."

Thank you Dowless family and staff for your continued support!

FREE KIDS COMMUNITY PICNIC & GAMES EVENT JULY 16 AT NMB PARK & SPORTS COMPLEX -- SPONSORED BY MANY PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS IN HORRY COUNTY, INCLUDING NMB PUBLIC SAFETY

June 21st, the first full day of summer, is ASK Day. Kids are out of school. Make sure they're safe where they play. Pledge to ASK. "Is there an unlocked gun where my child plays?"

www.askingsaveskids.org

Please join us in thanking our June Sponsor of the Month, Sandhills Bank: "Sandhills Bank has strong connections to the communities we serve. We originally chartered as The Bank of Bethune in 1959. For two decades, the Bank prospered serving the area around the small town of Bethune, South Carolina. In 1984, the bank changed its name to Sandhills Bank, a name reflecting the rolling dunes of the region. In 2000, the Sandhills Bank Financial Center opened in North Myrtle Beach, SC. Sandhills Bank remains committed to serving our customers. Our goal is to demonstrate how a small, community bank can provide a wide array of financial services to meet virtually any need with a friendly touch. That's why we chose our slogan: Your big bank alternative. We appreciate the loyalty our customers have shared with us over the years, and we invite you to join the Sandhills Bank family."

Thank you Carolina Shirt Company Inc. for donating these great hats!

We had another great Kid's Gun Safety Class today with these awesome kiddos!

Thank you Camo365 for featuring The Matthew Bellamy Project!

The Matthew Bellamy Project… A Tragedy leads to this Amazing Cause Gun Safety is above all, the most important aspect of owning a gun, especially when it comes to protecting our children.  This very worthwhile project promotes gun safety through education and offe…

There are still a few spots available for Saturday's Kid's Gun Safety Class. Register now at: http://thematthewbellamyproject.com/register-for-classes/

It's a gorgeous day in North Myrtle Beach for Mayfest. ☀️

We had another great Dragon Boat Festival with Ground Zero Saturday. Both teams made the finals again this year! THANK YOU to everyone who donated...our profit grand total is $6747!!! ❤️ Annual proceeds from this event not only support our programs, but also fund our annual scholarship. Thank you to Ground Zero & their staff for continuing to allow us to be a part of this amazing event!

To learn more about Ground Zero and their passion for helping teens visit: http://www.mygroundzero.com/ We love this organization and all that they stand for!

Come check this year's Ground Zero Dragon Boat Festival this Saturday at Market Common!

Our teams had a great practice tonight...we can't wait! 🚣

Practice night 4 happening now - just one night of practices left before the races on Saturday!

We were honored today to receive the Coastal Samaritan Counseling Center Ethics In Business Award in the non-profit category. And congratulations to our fellow co-finalist Teen Angels North Myrtle Beach High School - we love the work that you do! 💚

It is estimated that half of all homes in the United a States have at least one gun in them, many of which are unsecured. Whether you own guns or not one of the most important things you can do as a parent or guardian is ask about unsecured fi****ms where your children visit and play.

We are very passionate about this issue because we learned this lesson through the devastating loss of our precious Matthew. It was something that never occurred to us before his death. We share this message wherever we go. It's not a pro-gun or anti-gun issue. As a parent you have the right to know and make a decision that you feel is best for your family. I'd give anything to have asked that question. I'd give anything to change the outcome for our family.

Don't assume...ASK.

Mother's Day is less than 3 weeks away!
You can support The Matthew Bellamy Project when you purchase from Amazon Smile using this link: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/27-3528496