Anti-Bullying Message Sticks
By Kate Dubinski, FREE PRESS EDUCATION REPORTER
London Free Press, Saturday, September 9, 2006
A magnetic idea by a businesswoman and a partnership with a group of mothers will take an anti-bullying message into homes across Southwestern Ontario.The London anti-bullying coalition gave the Thames Valley District school board and London District Catholic school board 35,000 fridge magnets that will go to families in the two school boards' areas.
The magnets include the anti-bullying coalition's logo, website and the words Many Voices . . . One Vision to eliminate bullying.
"Bullying is not just a school problem, it's not a rite of passage, not something kids have to go through . . . it takes a community to help stop it," said, Kathryn Wilkins, a coalition founding member.
The magnets are the brainchild of Susan Regier, through the community spirit challenge started in 2003 at a businesswomen's conference.
Selected businesswomen -- dubbed fairy godmothers -- get $100 and raise money for projects they want to help in the community. Regier chose the anti-bullying coalition.
"I got the $100, then I sent out e-mails, I matched the money from my own company, and within three weeks, I had enough money to create these magnets," Regier said yesterday outside the Catholic Education Centre in London, where the magnets were presented to board officials.
"I was just meeting with the coalition and I had already been bestowed the honour of being the fairy godmother," Regier said.
"I asked them, 'Do you want a fairy godmother? If you had one wish, what would it be?' They said they wanted 35,000 magnets for every family in the schools. I said, done."
Since the fairy godmother program began in 2003, 61 community projects have been funded.
"We are honoured and privileged to have a coalition that cares," said Joe Rapai, the Catholic board's director of education. "We want all of our students to be safe."
The magnets will be given out during coming weeks.