Safe Fleet’s United to End Bullying (UEB) program just wrapped up its 5th Annual Coloring and Poster Contest. The theme of this year’s contest was “Be Kind,” and students from grades K to 10+ certainly stepped up to the challenge. 6 winners were chosen across grade-level categories for their unique works of art, each winning $500 for their respective schools alongside a number of personal prizes. The 6 runner-ups received $100 grants for their schools. The money was given with the intention of supporting the winning schools’ kindness initiatives in some way, shape, or form.
The contest’s impact wasn’t limited to its handful of winners, though – every school that encouraged its students to enter the contest either directly or indirectly fostered conversations about kindness and demonstrated to its students that it is a valued pivot of their school climate. UEB reminds us that the promotion of and implementation of kindness initiatives doesn’t have to lie solely with administrators and teachers. Engaging other service providers within the school sphere, including bus drivers and cafeteria/recess personnel, ensures that all staff interacting with students during the course of a day are aware of and reinforcing kindness programming equally.
The International Bullying Prevention Association continues to support UEB’s incredible work to put an end to bullying. IBPA was lucky enough to be one of UEB’s 2018 grant winners, and it is because of this grant that we were able to provide scholarships for young student advocates to attend the 2018 San Diego National Conference. Applications for UEB’s 2019 grants are going live on February 1st and closing on March 31st. This year’s grants will focus on honoring student leadership teams. You can find more information here: https://unitedtoendbullying.com
*Information on the 5th Annual Coloring and Poster Contest outcomes obtained from https://stnonline.com/news/anti-bullying-program-create-positive-ripples-across-north-america/.