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Jenna von Oy

Her acting career took her to Hollywood, but Jenna von Oy, 35, still has deep roots in her hometown of Newtown, Conn., the location of Friday's horrific school shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary. Over the weekend, she wrote an anguished love letter to her town for a blog on People.com.

"I am fiercely proud to say I was born and raised in Newtown," von Oy wrote. "It is where I was brought home from the hospital, attended my first day of kindergarten, learned to ride my bike and climbed my first tree." 

Von Oy was married in Newtown in 2010, and her daughter, Gray Audrey, was christened there earlier this year.

"I grieve for the parents who lost their beautiful, innocent babies; some of them were friends from high school," she wrote. "My heart hurts for the families who have to explain this loss to the frightened children they brought home."

Von Oy wrote, "Newtown has always been the epitome of a quintessentially quaint New England town. It resembles a Norman Rockwell painting, and I know it will be all too easy for that image to be marred by these appalling events. But Newtown is so much more than this shocking incident, and I desperately hope America will see that."

The actress went on to say, "There aren't enough prayers to ease their pain, but I'm giving it all I've got, regardless. It is all I have to give, and I hope you'll join me."

Von Oy played Blossom's friend Six on 1990s hit sitcom "Blossom" and later played Stevie on "The Parkers." She released a country music CD in 2007.