Erin Gruwell brought the inspiring story of the Freedom Writers to a free event Dec. 6 at the Lyric Theatre in Stuart. About 350 people – including many parents, children, educators and social services providers – attended the event.

Gruwell is a pioneering educator who took a classroom of students no other teacher wanted, who were filled with hopelessness, and transformed their lives.

“Erin delivered the message about the tremendous impact that one person’s actions and attitude toward another can make in that person’s life,” said Holly Laiben, director of CHARACTER COUNTS! (www.charactercounts.net), a program of United Way of Martin County. “To succeed in life, we all need someone who believes in us, can find the good in us and gives us a second chance.”

That’s what Erin Gruwell did for her students when she was a teacher at a Long Beach, Calif., high school. She and her students captured their collective journey in a book titled “The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them.”

Now, she is helping people help others as a speaker (www.apbspeakers.com) and as president of the Erin Gruwell Education Project (www.gruwellproject.com), a non-profit organization that promotes inclusion and provides scholarships for children in need. The project promotes acceptance and innovative methods for educating our diverse population.

During the event at the Lyric, Gruwell showed a preview to a movie called “Freedom Writers,” in which she will be portrayed by Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank. The movie (www.freedomwriters.com) premieres Jan. 12 – on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.

“Erin’s final request of the audience was for every adult to take a child to the movie,” Laiben said.

The Erin Gruwell presentation was a community collaborative event sponsored by the following individuals and organizations:

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Martin County

• CHARACTER COUNTS! of Martin County

• Children’s Services Council of Martin County

• Children’s Services Council of St. Lucie County

• Circuit 19 Juvenile Justice Council

• Lyric Theatre

• Martin County Youth Leadership

• Martin County Juvenile Justice Council

• Martin County Interagency Coalition

• Mary Claire Anderson

• Planned Parenthood of Greater Miami, Palm Beach and Treasure Coast, Inc.

• Shared Services Network of Martin County

• Tykes & Teens

• United Way of Martin County

• Valerie Graham