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Jade and Gabe – Raising funds to show those that are bullied to see that they are not alone and that they have so many people by their side for support
Posted: 10/9/2015
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Jade Schmeling, left, and her cousin Gabe Nelson have hosted Spook City in the Woods, the annual fundraiser to fight bullying, for the past three years. Photo from Stewartville Star |
Event: A haunted pathway through the woods
Dates: Friday and Saturday,
October 16 – 17, 2015
Location: Racine, MN
Cost: A free-will donation to support bullying prevention
Three years ago, Jade and Gabe founded Spook City in the Woods, a haunted pathway that leads guest through a forest filled with witches, zombies and more! Held in Racine, Minnesota, this event has been a huge success, raising over $1,500 in 2014. Spook City supports bullying prevention, as the cost to visit this frightening forest is a free-will donation to PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center.
“The exact details to how we thought of this type of creative fundraiser is a little blurry,” say Jade. “But, Gabe and I both knew exactly where we wanted our fundraised money to end up. And that was in the hands of PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center. The topic of bullying hits home for us, as we’ve both been tremendously impacted with this current issue. Gabe has personally been attacked by the harsh effects of bullying and has firsthand experience with this awful issue. In my 7th grade year, 2012, one of my previous classmates decided to leave us because of the horrid effects of bullying. Gabe and I, we understand the pain. We understand the loss. We understand that bullying is not to be taken lightly. We want to make a difference in the world, and to stand up for what we believe in. We have come so far since our first year in 2012. We are so ever grateful for how much support we have received. Our journey with Spook City is only just beginning!”
For more information on Spook City in the Woods, visit their website or Facebook page!
By: Anonymous
Local Restaurants Unite Against Bullying
Posted: 10/6/2015
Cate Street Seafood Station and The Boston Restaurant in Louisiana are spreading kindness, acceptance, and inclusion in their communities by inviting local high schoolers to visit their restaurants to take a pledge against bullying. The restaurants are sharing profits with the local schools on these special days and sharing resources from PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center.
The restaurants care about bullying prevention because “helping put a stop to bullying is very important to us, as parents, students, and partners in our community. It’s our goal to make a public show of support for those who suffer from bullying and to support our schools in their efforts to educate and empower students to stand together against bullying.” This is a great example of how communities can come together to show targets of bullying that they are not alone.
By: Anonymous
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Speak Out Against Bullying NBPM Kickoff!
Posted: 10/6/2015
On Oct. 1, 2015 Speak Out Against Bullying kicked off National Bullying Prevention Month by gathering students and community leaders together to take a pledge against bullying. These efforts sent a clear message to students that their community cares about them and that they can be champions for bullying prevention in their schools. Thank you for your support of National Bullying Prevention Month!
By: Anonymous
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Her platform: Bullying prevention
Posted: 9/16/2015
Ever since I moved to the United States I always heard stories about children being bullied. It gets in my bones. When I was chosen as Mrs Albania International and went on to compete for Mrs International 2015, we were asked to choose a platform and that's when I took a chance and picked bullying prevention. No kid should be afraid to go to school. Every kid deserves to live a happy life and be able to make friends.This is the reason I requested the proclamation and I am so greatful that Governor Rauner signed it. All schools in Illinois are encouraged to follow it and help kids that are targets of bullying.
By: Mrs. Albania
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You’ll Be Glad You Did
Posted: 9/8/2015
Hello. Like most of you reading this, I have been bullied. It all started in kindergarten. There was a bully named Angelica who would pull my hair and steal my lunch, and threaten to do worse things if I told anyone. So I didn't. I was naive and young back then, so I didn't. Eventually, she got caught. She has never bullied me again, but it's not like we're best friends either. For the next 3 years, there were all of these programs claiming they'd "stop bullying " or "stomp out bullying forever". Well, they did a good job. Until the 4th grade, when everybody started to figure out little loopholes in order to "poke fun with their fellow classmates", which really was bullying. All of the adults didn't really deem it as "bullying", because what kids would do is they would make fun of one kid and toss a few insults at him or her, and then move on to the next kid. It wasn't repetitive, and it wasn't "bullying" in their eyes, so the adults really didn't do anything about it. This would go on in the playground, in the bathroom, in the cafeteria, and occasionally in the back of the bus- the only places where us kids weren't supervised and could pretty much say what we wanted to say, as long as it wasn't too loud. In the 4th grade, I was bullied again. I was one of the rare cases- not the one where they just insulted you a couple of times, then moved on while another kid did the same to you. There was this kid named Maria, who would insult my friend Maddy just because her mom was gay. I didn't have any problem with it, but apparently Maria did. I tried telling adults, but since they never saw the bullying themselves (it often happened in the 'secret' places I mentioned) they kept on saying they couldn't do anything about it. I told my parents, who said they'd keep an eye out for any more bullying. One day they installed a security camera in the playground, which pretty much took care of that problem. Then I stayed bully-free until the 6th grade. I turned out to be one of the smallest kids in the whole bunch, and so were my friends, Polly and Diana. This band of 8th graders would parade the school like it was their own school, and would pick out the smallest kids and bully them. You get the picture. One day, though, the group got a little too overconfident, and started yelling at us loudly. Then the Tech and Ag teacher saw the whole thing. They asked what was going on, and the whole thing was cleared up. I know there will be more bullying to come, and I hope that the odds for another episode will decrease. What all of this has taught me is, not everyone will like you and the programs that claim to stomp out bullying forever really don't stomp out bullying forever. If anyone is reading this and stuck in the same situation as I was, don't wait. Talk to an adult now. You'll be glad you did.
By: Julia
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One person
Posted: 8/28/2015
Broken,shattered,torn
My heart can't take anymore
Heal my soul
This truth needs to be told
Been called stupid,ugly,freak
Made me feel weak
One person can help all
One word please before I fall
Into this land of tears
That holds my tears
And insecurities
By: Jaena
Bullied
Posted: 8/28/2015
Stop picking on me, please, just leave me alone;
I’ve done nothing to you, I’m just trying to go home.
You might think it’s funny, the kind of clothes I wear,
But I don’t understand why you would even care.
So what if I wear thick glasses because I need help to see,
Because I see clearly you’re someone I hope I’ll never be.
Every time you call me ‘stupid,’ that really hurts me too,
Trust me, you would feel the same if it was said to you.
I might be small and might be weak but that is no excuse,
My body size is something that I just did not choose.
I know I like to spend recess escaping into my books;
It’s unfair that when I try to smile you give me dirty looks.
The bruises on my arm you gave still are black and blue,
I really wish you could see yourself through my point-of-view.
School is a place that I should be able to learn and have fun,
But you took that joy away from me and now I’m left with none.
I don’t have many friends and I feel I don’t fit in,
My whole life I’ve fought a losing battle and for once I’d like to win.
My home life is very hard, and my parents fight each day,
They tell me they don’t love me and they wished I’d go away.
I have nobody I can talk to, and it makes me cry at night,
I hoped school could pull me out of my darkness and finally show me light.
So please, I beg you, leave me be, I feel fragile and distraught,
Because you don’t know a thing about the battles that I’ve fought.
By: Ryan
Me Eating Lunch Alone
Posted: 8/25/2015
My name is Steven Nieves, I filmed this as a freshman in High School; during my lunch period. That is why you see me eating a bagel. If this video comes across a bit confusing, please continue reading this description. High School was very hard for me. I was bullied pretty much everyday my freshmen year of high school. This moment captured on film was me eating lunch alone. I was rejected by the students, so I ate in the corner.
This video was posted by mistake. When I say mistake, I didn't expect anyone to view it. If you happened to find this, watch closely, I put on a fake smile. My eyes look lost, confused, and I'm also a bit paranoid. I tried so hard to prevent the headlights from shining on me, THAT IS WHY MY LAPTOP WAS OUT FILIMING. I spent most of my days dodging packets of ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, chopped up carrots, oranges, and French-fries. Some days I ate in the bathroom.
I don't have any friends.
I come back to this video once and a while and I'm the only one who can truly see the sadness in my eyes, and face because I relive this moment over and over. Eating lunch alone is probably the worst feeling in the world. Especially when you're sick with depression and anxiety. (you had depression and anxiety?) {I still have it!}
How I was Bullied:
- Mentally ( name calling low self esteem )
- Verbally ( name calling / cussed at )
- Physically ( throwing food at me, and tripping me )
This video has been supported by thousands of people, I appreciate all of you! Ke$ha tweeted "I would sit with you!!" Justin Bieber's Dad, Jeremy Bieber also retweeted a fan tweeting about my video! Thank you guys so much! I love you!
By: Steven Nieves
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Ever been bullied and done bullying?
Posted: 8/5/2015
I have a interesting story... Have you ever been bullied and done bullying before? I have. When people used to call me names and stuff I got really sad. But sometimes I would call another person names too. I never noticed until one day the kid I called names after the other people called me names told me "hey. I know they call you stuff. I know your mad. But please don't take it all out on me." I didn't get it at first. But then I realized that I bullied that kid. I remember that I started crying and asking for forgiveness. "I know it's not easy to forgive me. But please. Can you forgive me? I never noticed that I did that to you." The kid forgave me. He said he knew it was tough and that he would help me react to bullying better by not calling anyone names. Eventually we talked to a teacher and it stoped. But then they started bullying me again. But this time they pushed me and said worse things. When I couldn't take it we had to talk to a teacher. But that teacher didn't do anything about it. We had to talk to seven teachers after that and none would do anything. When we asked the eighth teacher he talked to some people in the staff so the bullying could stop. Finally it did. I don't know what the teachers and the staff did. But it stopped. I was really happy. I wish bullying would just stop. It hurts a lot of people physically and emotionally.
By: Anonymous
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Running the Distance for Bullying Prevention
Posted: 7/20/2015
After experiencing bullying, 14-year-old Spencer decided he wanted to give back to his community by holding a Run Against Bullying. He is working to involve his entire community by reaching out to local schools as well as local businesses for sponsorship. Along with organizing the race, Spencer will be running 100 miles during his training for the big day. He has been taking pledges and has raised close to $1,000! “I believe it’s important to stay true to who you are,” says Spencer. “Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about being different. Everyone is different!” For more information on how to hold a Run, Walk, Roll against Bullying in your community, click here.
By: Anonymous
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