Disney’s Babble has a report on Club Penguin’s, “It Starts With You!” Bullying Prevention and Cyber-safety Tour. The tour, that is geared for 5th to 8th graders, help kids understand what bullying and cyber-bullying. The program is complimentary to school’s and features three components. The first is a speech for the student body that talks about the facilitator’s experiences with bullying. Next is a leadership workshop where 20-30 students spend 3 hours working on how they can address issues in their community. Finally, the school receives lesson plans and a support person who helps provide resources to keep the anti-bullying momentum going.
As facilitator Sierra Hawkins says regarding herself and her fellow facilitator, “We’ve both been bullied in school and it resonates with the kids when they hear us tell our stories. One child recently came up to us after we spoke with tears in their eyes because they didn’t realize that it happened to others and felt so alone. Seeing the two of us up there talking about how we made it through gave them the courage to go on. For us, it’s kids like these that inspire us to make a difference in every school we visit.”
The Club Penguin “It Starts With You!” Bullying Prevention and Cyber-safety Tour is a free program for any school with all costs fully sponsored by Disney’s Club Penguin. To book a spot for your school for this year or next, e-mail[email protected]. Spaces are limited.
Additionally, tips for parents and kids about online safety and bullying prevention may be found at Club Penguins’s safety page.