Every day thousands of young people experience bullying from their peers while at school, after school in their neighborhoods, and even when they are at home, through social media and texts. Every October, schools, and organizations across the country join STOMP Out Bullying™ to encourage schools, communities and organizations to work together to stop bullying and cyberbullying and put an end to hatred and racism by increasing awareness of the prevalence and impact of all forms of bullying on all children of all ages. School can be hard enough; multiply this factor exponentially once you factor in being a child in foster care.
Things you can do:
Make friends with someone you don’t know at school
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.
Inclusion
- Don’t let anyone at school eat alone in the cafeteria or on a school field trip. Make it the week of #NOONEEATSALONE
- Invite someone you don’t know that well to sit next to. Learn about each other
- Include other students in school activities
- Include other students in after school activities
- 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 your classmates know that they have your support and a person to reach out to if they ever need to talk.
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 or snap a photo of everyone doing acts of kindness. Share with us!
STAND UP for Others Week
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. Either way, you want to 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.
