Thank you to the students at Penn Yan Middle School for a great talk about bullying today! I sat down with three different groups of students over lunch to discuss our ideas on how to change bullying.
One student, a beautiful young lady from the local high school, had come over to help host my visit. Allie had moved to Penn Yan from down south and I found out she was bullied for years once she arrived. She eventually founded the H.E.R.O.S. program: a pledge taken by students across her district to stand up and by an ally to those who face bullying and harassment. This one individual has changed the entire social fabric of that school district, and the success of her effort was apparent from the number of students in the audience wearing bright green "H.E.R.O.S" t-shirts. Allie and I spoke for a long time. She is already planning her first retreat event for participants in her program. The best part was, when I asked the other students about Allie's work, they all lit up with excitement at how they loved her. You know how serious I am about youth leadership, and this girl is a shining example of it's power. So I put my John Hancock on a green pledge sticker and will be keeping up with Allie to hear all about her program as it grows.
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