Linda Beigel Schulman: Channeling Grief Into Advocacy

For a while, it took everything she had just to keep moving forward, to put one foot in front of the other. Then she found inspiration in what had taken the bottom out of her world — the death of her son, Scott. Scott loved summer sleep-away camp and he loved children. She and her husband, Michael Schulman, started the Scott J. Beigel Memorial Fund, which sends at-risk, underserved children who have been touched by gun violence to summer sleep-away camp.

Scott J. Beigel was killed by a 19-year-old gunman during the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in Parkland, Fla., February 14, 2018. Beigel, the geography teacher and cross-country coach, was able to save 31 students by going against protocol and opening his classroom door to allow panicked students to shelter in his classroom. Unfortunately, Beigel could not close the door fast enough to avoid the advancing gunman.

Beigel’s heroism was recognized by ESPN with the awarding of an ESPY Award for Coach of the Year in 2018, feature articles in Runner’s World and ESPN the Magazine, the renaming of his hometown street to “Scott J. Beigel Way,” and the establishment of a scholarship by the Orange Bowl Committee and at the University of Florida. New York State honored Beigel with the enactment of the “Scott J. Beigel Unfinished Receiver Act” and a legislative resolution honoring him.

“The Scott J. Beigel Memorial Fund is my way of celebrating Scott’s life, not mourning his death,” says his mother, Linda Beigel Schulman. In 2019, the Fund started sending children to three camps and has now increased the number of camps to seven. These camps are in four states: three in New York, two in New Jersey and one each in Florida and Massachusetts.

Beigel Schulman remembers that when her son was 6 years old and his sister, Melissa, was 9, he said he was “going to go to camp next summer, just like Melissa.” He loved summer sleep-away camp. He went to camp at the age of 7 and continued for the next 28 years until he was murdered.

Beigel was always finding a way to help the underdog. “Scott volunteered to teach in South Africa for two months. He returned without his luggage,” Beigel Schulman remembers.

She immediately thought the airline had lost his luggage. But he explained that the children in South Africa bang on the gates to get into school, while students here pray for snow days. Students here worry about having the most current sneakers, while the children in South Africa are thrilled to just have shoes. He told her, “Mom, I left everything there; they needed it way more than I do.”

At the 2023 NYC Imagine Awards, the Scott J. Beigel Memorial Fund won the Fan Favorite Award. Beigel Schulman says the NYC Imagine Awards gave her the opportunity to spread the word about the Fund and its mission. She was able to share about the children the Fund sends to camp and their experiences at camp.

The children begin camp a little apprehensive, not sure what to expect. After two days of being at camp, no one wants to leave. This is an accomplishment for these children, many of whom are from homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters and single-parent homes. This past summer, the Fund proudly sent 262 campers to summer sleep-away camp.

The age of the children ranges from 8 to 16. At 16, they are eligible to become counselors in training. The Fund also arranges career opportunity days with Northwell Health and RXR Realty for the older campers.

Camp provides many new experiences for the children. The campers take swimming lessons, hiking, archery, arts and crafts, horseback riding, nature trails and of course, eating healthy.

Beigel Schulman says, “They learn to trust each other, they learn a sense of community, they share responsibilities, and learn to get along with people of different backgrounds and ethnicities.”

The SJBMF collaborates with Book Fairies (to establish libraries), Tech Fin (to establish computer centers), The Period Project (to help educate young girls) and other nonprofits to help make their camp experience that much more rewarding.

It is not only about sending children to camp. Nonprofit camps need essentials for the children. “I am not above going to a dentist’s office and begging for dental supplies. I do a lot of begging to help my campers,” says Beigel Schulman.

She speaks about the circumstances of her son’s death all the time. “It was the day before Valentine’s Day,” she says. “I spoke with Scott and reminded him to call his sister tomorrow to wish her a happy birthday. We got off the phone, saying ‘I love you, speak to you tomorrow’ … but tomorrow never came.”

It was her husband who called her at work to ask the name of the school where Beigel taught. She said it was a school with a lot of names. He called her back three minutes later and said the name of the school was Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School and told her to come home.

“Scott’s murder would have never happened if Florida had a red flag law before February 14, 2018,” Beigel Schulman says with conviction. “Everyone knew the shooter had problems. His aunt had called both the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI about her concerns and fears. Nobody did anything.”

“I am strong on the outside,” says Beigel Schulman. “I still cannot wrap my head around Scott being gone forever. I promised myself that I would never mourn his death, but instead would always celebrate his life. I believe each child we send to camp has a piece of Scott’s heart in them.”

Her husband, Michael, is her No. 1 source of strength. Other sources of strength are her longtime friends, some of whom live in the Hamptons. She has often taken solace here when she needs to get away.

“Escaping to the Hamptons offers a sense of serenity, of being in the country,” says Beigel Schulman. It gives me a chance to leave some of my cares behind for a few hours.”

To learn more about the summer camps and how you can help, visit sjbmf.org, call 631-796-0440 or email info@sjbmf.org.

Todd Shapiro is an award-winning publicist and associate publisher of Dan’s Papers.