October is National Bullying Prevention Month

In 2006, the Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights' (PACER) National Center for Bullying Prevention designated October as National Bullying Prevention Month. The campaign encourages people and communities nationwide to raise awareness of the realities of bullying.

In recognition of this month, we will be posting resources, articles and more about bullying and prevention. Do you have a resource we should share this month? Send your submission to bcofrancesco@stowecenter.org or share your thoughts in the comments section below. 

To kick off our posts on bullying, we thought we would share PACER's list of links and events for the 2013 campaign:

Coming in October 2013:

Would you like to receive updates about 2013 events for National Bullying Prevention Month? Complete the contact form for PACER or add your name to the digital “The End of Bullying Begins With Me” Petition.

Raise A Giant – PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center is partnering with Green Giant to encourage parents to “raise a giant”. Green Giant goes to great lengths to help people grow and thrive. This means more than providing delicious vegetables for physical health but also helping people thrive emotionally. Green Giant understands that to grow and thrive you have to feel safe and that is why they are addressing one of the biggest emotional issues facing families today – bullying. To help parents raise kids who are strong inside and out, and to help them learn how to prevent, stop and cope with bullying, we’re asking you to sign in to Raise A Giant. Write a letter to the kids in your life telling them why they have the courage to stand up to bullying and asking them to do their best to be a giant in their life.

Run, Walk, Roll Against Bullying – Schools, businesses, organizations, and communities will come together to Run, Walk, Roll Against Bullying on Saturday, Oct. 5 in Bloomington, Minn., and at dozens of other locations around the country throughout the month. This fun, active outdoor event increases awareness of bullying prevention and raises funds to support the cause. We have all the tools you need to host a Run, Walk, Roll in your community. Check out PACER’s free toolkit which shows you how to plan the event in five easy steps and includes tips, ideas, and resources.

New Student Event Toolkit
Need help planning a student-led bullying prevention event? PACER has partnered with Facebook to create a practicalStudent Event Toolkit that will make it easier to hold events in your school or community. This step-by-step guide will help you plan, promote, and execute a variety of events throughout the year using Facebook tools.
Take a look

Other exciting opportunities:

Whether you are an educator, student, family, or individual you can take an active role during the month, ideas include:

• Sign up your school or organization as a Champion Against Bullying
• Add your name to the digital “The End of Bullying Begins With Me” petition
• Talk with your local media about bullying prevention and the activities happening in your own community
• Order bullying prevention bookmarks
• Share your story, poem, artwork or video
• Coordinate a Unity Dance and come together in song and dance.
• Hold a community event
• Tell why “you care about bullying prevention”
• Spread the word on social media
• Use PACER’s creative classroom toolkits to raise awareness
• Visit the ACT section of TeensAgainstBullying

“The culture of bullying won’t end until people across the country take action and show kids that they care,” says Julie Hertzog, director of PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center. “National Bullying Prevention Month is a great opportunity to do that. This is a very real and painful issue that kids are facing but they don’t have to face it alone. Bullying can be prevented if we all work together to change the culture.”