The Yorkdale Central School WeAct group is proud to announce they have been selected to receive a Grant of from the 2018 United to End Bullying Grant Program.
The annual grant program is part of United Against Bullying, the social campaign of Safe Fleet, a provider of safety solutions for fleet vehicles. The program offers schools and organizations working with youth, the resources, contests, and funding to help end bullying and empower young people to be kind, empathetic, and successful.
YCS WeAct’s winning proposal included information on their week of kindness event and their efforts to tackle bullying in a proactive way as opposed to the reactive approach that is commonly used when it comes to bullying. While their week of kindness event, including the Day of Pink, was a great highlight, the group works all year to actively promote a positive school culture.
“We are working to create a community in our school where everyone feels that they are welcome and safe” says Johanna Fleger, a grade 8 member of the WeAct group. “Most people aren’t intentionally mean, it’s just that lots of times they don’t understand. We are hoping that by raising awareness around issues like food insecurity and bullying, we can open more eyes to the problem” says Emma Els, another grade 8 member of the group. “We think that more open eyes leads to more compassion”.
The group has ambitious plans for this grant money.
Brooklyn Davis, a grade 6 member and future leader in the group says “we are planning a student workshop and the grant money will go towards that”.
Kendra Helfrich, the group’s teacher-leader says “Me to We has an amazing workshop they facilitate that focuses on reconciliation for students. The idea is to help all students understand each other better, especially around Indigenous issues. The facilitators come from Ontario, but they utilize local community members to bring their own knowledge and understanding to the issues. We want to bring that workshop to our community. It connects to the idea that the more we understand each other, the less likely we are to be cruel to each other”. This is the reason, Brooklyn says, that she joined WeAct. “I just felt like all we ever hear is negative stuff. Everything on the news is bad and it gets overwhelming sometimes. I wanted to be part of something that brings positive stuff to our community and gives us good things to focus on and talk about instead. I think that’s what our events and campaigns do. They allow everyone to be part of doing something good in whatever way they can”.
YCS WeAct wants to extend their gratitude for the amazing support their group receives from their school community. If you would like more information about the workshop they are hoping to host, or would like to offer your support for this project, please contact Kendra Helfrich at Yorkdale School.
