STOMP Out Bullying: BLUE SHIRT DAY

Let South Florida be a wave of BLUE SHIRTS on October 4th.  After making national headlines for having some of the most horrific bullying attacks, (Michael Brewer, doused in alcohol and set on fire by bullies and Josie Ratley nearly beaten to death by another teen), it is time to take back South Florida in a positive direction.

October 3rd thru the 9th is National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week and STOMP Out Bullying is asking everyone to make October 4th the day that bullying and cyberbullying prevention is heard around the world by wearing a BLUE SHIRT in solidarity to STOMP Out Bullying™!

Whether you are in Broward, Dade or Palm Beach County, get your schools, neighborhoods and communities involved!  Let our country and the world know we are not taking it anymore.

Since 1999, Love Our Children USA™ has been the national nonprofit leader in fighting all forms of violence against children. STOMP Out Bullying™ is a signature program of our organization.

Florida has made the news again recently.  James Jones defended his disabled daughter after she was taunted and bullied on a public school bus, as another Florida mother, April Newcomb, encouraged her daughter to fight!  The video says it all and it is appalling.

The father, James Jones, quickly recognized his wrong doing, and apologized to the the kids on the bus while April Newcomb was arrested and now being charged with child abuse.

Isn't it time Florida is seen on national television in a positive light?  Get your BLUE SHIRTS today and on Saturday, October 4th, let your voice be heard!

Here are more ways you can help STOMP Out Bullying:

• Visit their website and Click the “Click Me” box and join the almost 100,000 who have made a commitment to STOMP Out Bullying™
• Make October 4th the day that bullying and cyberbullying prevention is heard around the world by wearing a BLUE SHIRT in solidarity to STOMP Out Bullying™! You can order BLUE SHIRTS from STOMP Out Bullying™ or wear your own!
• Raise awareness and educate on the issue of bullying and its effects
• Educators can invite students to join in an open discussion on how to STOMP Out Bullying™
• Spread the word and spur others to take action via Facebook, Twitter STOMP Out Bullying, Twitter Love Our Children USA, Blog it, Text it, E-mail it
• Sign the petition which tells President Obama and Congress that we must STOMP Out Bullying™
• Create events to raise awareness of the issue
• Tell us why it’s important to you to STOMP Out Bullying™ on their web site
• Create art, dance, music and theater projects about why and how we can STOMP Out Bullying™
• Plan a STOMP Out Bullying™ walk and raise awareness
• Create posters to STOMP Out Bullying™
• Create your own way to STOMP Out Bullying™ in your community

Watch video and learn more! Read more.

Sue Scheff: Love Our Children USA - Making a Difference in the Lives of Children

July is National Make a Difference to Children Month.

As families are enjoying their summer vacations, time at the beach, time with friends, and simply having fun in the sun, there are children that are suffering. Children that are hungry. Children that are being harmed and children that need you to help them make a change.

During National Make a Difference to Children Month, find it in your heart to dig into your wallet and make a difference to a child today. Every dollar counts, every donation can help bring a smile to a child somewhere.

Nationally, Love our Children USA has brought an awareness to violence among children. Since 1999 they have been the leader in violence prevention and continue to expand through STOMPOutBullying.org. Bullying and cyberbullying is a growing concern today, and again Love Our Children USA is taking a stand to educate and inform people about bullying prevention.

Learn how you can donate today. Is there someone that is special to you? People that are hard to buy for or have everything they need? Make a personal gift, a gift in honor of someone or in memory of someone. Giving a little can mean a lot, don't delay, send what you can today! Click here.

Remember, children are our future.

Watch video and read more.

Sue Scheff: School Violence Needs to STOP

Last week in Florida is another tragedy involving teens and school violence. BULLYING is a major issue and needs to be taken seriously. The recent incident in Deerfield Beach of the young boy that was bullied and burned by his classmates is nothing short of despicable. It was only a month ago we were all brought to tears by the death of the teen in a Coral Gables stabbing at school.

As a Parent Advocate, I cannot express enough that parents need to be educated on bullying and how dangerous this behavior is.

What happened to 15 year old Michael Brewer should be a wake-up call to all parents, educators, and everyone that works with children today. Do we really need these wake-up calls? We read about these horrific acts almost daily with kids, whether it is in Chicago or South Florida, these stories are in the news.

Help STOP BULLYING today! Be an educated parent, you will have a safer teen.

What is bullying?

Bullying is an aggressive behavior that is intentional and malicious. Bullying can be physical contact as well as verbal abuse. Many have heard the adage “Sticks and stone can break your bones, but word can never hurt.” That has been proven a wrong statement over and over, as words can devastate a young child and scar them emotionally for a long time.

To learn more about bullying visit the following websites and take the time to become familiar with the warning signs, tips, articles, as well as how you can be proactive in your community.

Stop Bullying Now – All about bullying, prevention, intervention and more. Take a stand, lend a hand.

STOMP OUT BULLYING – What you can do. PSA’s and more, take the pledge to stop bullying today.

Kids Health Today – Educational articles, tips and more about bullying and your children.

Love Our Children USA – Report bullying, child abuse and neglect; learn how to protect children today.

Education.com Bullying Series – Everything you need to know about bullying and more.
Isn’t it time we, as a community, we work together to put an end to bullying and school violence? Let it start at home, talk to your kids about these serious issues. Communication is the pathway to understanding the problem and working together to stop it!

For more info: Miami Herald, Associated Press, NBC Miami, LA Times, National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, Parents Universal Resource Experts

Also on Examiner.com

Sue Scheff: Help STOMP Out Bullying

STOMP Out Bullying™ is an initiative of Love Our Children USA™ the national nonprofit leader that honors, respects and protects children. Its mission is to break the cycle of violence against children. Since 1999, it has paved the way in prevention and has become the 'Go-To' prevention organization for all forms of violence and neglect against children in the U.S.

Love Our Children USA launched the STOMP Out Bullying™ campaign in October, 2008. STOMP Out Bullying focuses its efforts to reduce Bullying and Cyberbullying, decrease school absenteeism and truancy, educate against homophobia and racism and deter violence in schools, playgrounds and communities across the country. It includes public service announcements by noted celebrities, in-school education, online and social media campaigns, posters, brochures and wristbands.

Both the STOMP Out Bullying Campaign™ and our Annual BLUE SHIRT DAY™ initiative bring awareness and educates kids, parents and schools about the issue. It offers hope for every kid who experiences the harmful effects of bullying and teaches parents to keep open communication with their children and to look for signs. It also educates school administrators across the country, who have swept this issue under the rug for far too long. Funds raised for the campaign go towards a dedicated web site and towards brochures and materials to assist bullying prevention education and peer mentoring in schools for those who adopt the STOMP Out Bullying™ campaign.

For those who think that kids need to toughen up and become thick-skinned, years ago we would have agreed with them. But today's kids are at risk, and that risk grows more and more everyday as the popularity of the Internet increases. Kids today are exposed to so much more than we were years ago. And years ago, when kids threatened to kill someone they didn't mean it. Today our kids have access to guns and the threat to kill someone is no longer idle.

The issues of bullying and cyberbullying have increased to epidemic proportions. As a form of violence against children, these issues have caused a crisis. Some kids are so tormented that suicide has become an alternative for them. It has everyone worried. Not just the kids on its receiving end, but the parents, teachers and others who may not understand how extreme bullying can get. Love Our Children USA is working aggressively to prevent these issues and to help the kids and teens affected by it.

Love Our Children created STOMP Out Bullying™ to put an end to this crisis, to keep our children safe and to create bullying prevention education and peer mentoring in schools.

Please join us in our efforts to educate and advocate and most of all to STOMP Out Bullying™!