Matthew McConaughey and wife fight for children's safety in American schools
The Greenlights Grant Initiative, launched by Matthew McConaughey and wife Camila, aims to help 'streamline and simplify' the government's funding process for school safety
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila launched an initiative to help make American schools safer for children.
The McConaugheys launched the Greenlights Grant Initiative Thursday to help schools take advantage of legislation aimed at providing schools with money to fund safety measures to protect students against school shootings and other violence.
President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law in June 2022, one month after the school shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two teachers dead May 24, 2022. The legislation included $1 billion in funding specifically for schools.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}McConaughey, who grew up in Uvalde, explained during an interview on "Good Morning America" the grant writing process can be "intimidating" to schools that don't have the resources. To hire a grant writer can cost up to $50,000, which many "high-risk" schools don't have, according to the "Fool's Gold" actor.
Matthew McConaughey and wife Camila Alves McConaughey launched the Greenlights Grant Initiative Thursday. (Rick Kern/WireImage)
The Greenlights Grant Initiative has been set up to give schools resources to complete grant applications.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"When Camila and I went to Uvalde, the parents and the family members of the children that were killed asked for one thing: ‘Make their lives matter,’" McConaughey explained in a video shared to Instagram.
"Let’s make sure that the first bill passed in 28 years to help protect all our children in schools matters."
Matthew McConaughey advocated for new laws on "gun responsibility" after the Uvalde shooting. (Gary Miller via Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Before Biden signed the legislation, McConaughey went to Washington, D.C., to help advocate for the families and school safety.
"There is a difference between control and responsibility," the actor wrote in an op-ed published in early June 2022. "The first is a mandate that can infringe on our right; the second is a duty that will preserve it. There is no constitutional barrier to gun responsibility.
"Keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous people is not only the responsible thing to do, it is the best way to protect the Second Amendment. We can do both."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After meeting with President Biden, Matthew McConaughey expressed his support for new legislation for more gun control after the elementary school shooting in his hometown that left 19 children and two teachers dead. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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McConaughey has also been outspoken about politics and where he stands in his personal beliefs.
In October, he wrote an op-ed that explained how his experience working with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., led him to realize the majority of Americans aren't on the political fringes. He encouraged lawmakers to work together on issues in the same way they worked on gun legislation following the mass shooting.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}WATCH: UVALDE NATIVE MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY MAKES WHITE HOUSE APPEARANCE TO URGE ‘GUN RESPONSIBILITY’
"It seems that each party is so harmfully consumed by despising the opposition that they’ve become little more than counterpunches — so focused on the party and the party defense that they’ve become reactive by default," McConaughey explained. "They’ve lost sight of their own values and vision, thereby ceding their power to the fringes. That’s a problem.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Because most Americans, myself included, don’t stand on the political fringes. We are reasonable and responsible, and we share more values than we’re being told we do. And we believe that meeting each other in the middle is in service of the greater good. We have the majority. We have the numbers."