“More than one of every five school-aged children report being bullied,” said Julie Hertzog, director of PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center, which sponsors Unity Day and founded National Bullying Prevention Month in 2006. “It’s important these students know they are not alone and that they have the right to feel safe. By joining together and wearing ORANGE on Unity Day, we can send the unified message that we care about student’s physical and emotional health and that bullying will no longer be accepted in this society.”
Make friends with someone you don’t know
If you’ve ever been isolated from others at school or you were new at school and it took time to make friends, you know what it feels like to be left out. Or even if you were never isolated, imagine how it would feel.
- Make friends with someone at school who you don’t know. You probably wish someone had done that for you.
- Be a leader. Take action and don’t let anyone at school be in isolation.
Challenge others to be kind
Make kindness go viral with an act of kindness and challenge friends and classmates to pay it forward with their acts of kindness.
- Make a video of everyone doing acts of kindness and send it to us. We’ll add it to our website.
STAND UP for Others
- When you see someone being bullied, be brave and STAND UP for them. Bullies have been known to back off when others stand up for victims.
- If you don’t feel safe get the help of an adult immediately. Be part of the solution — not the problem!
It’s a time to see everyone’s differences and celebrate their similarities: Whether students are LGBT, African American, Asian, Muslim, AAPI,of Tribal descent or disabled …make friends.
Focus on Inclusion
- Don’t let anyone at school eat alone in the cafeteria or on a school field trip. #NOONEEATSALONE
- Include others in activities
- Invite someone you don’t know that well to sit next to you on the bus. Learn about each other.
At one point or another each of us has felt insecure, or stressed out, or alone. It is important to remind our friends and classmates that we are all in it together and we are there to listen and support each other. Use the hashtag #HereForYou on social media to let others know that they have your support and a person to reach out to if they ever need to talk.
Conversations Amongst Your Peers
- Meet with your friends and discuss how you can Change The Culture.
- Hold a discussion where you allow others to openly speak and discuss their experiences with bullying and cyberbullying, and how these experiences have affected them and how they dealt with these moments.
This is your month to take leadership and carry it through all-year-round!
The more awareness that is created during the month of October — and all year round, you are one step closer to putting an end to bullying!