Fall is one of my favourite times of year.  Not only are the trees changing colours, days are getting shorter and the kids back to school, but also Bullying Ends Here goes into full swing.  I am so excited to get back out and speak with as many people as possible.  I anticipate this will be the best year yet!

So far this month, the program has been presented in several communities throughout Alberta and British Columbia.  I also use October as a means to get ‘warmed up’ since November is arguably the busiest month of the school year for us.  This year, I will be in seven provinces presenting the program in November alone!

 

The last few months has had the program focusing on how to expand and reach even more this year.  We are proud to announce that we have a  young man, Keigan, who is going to join our team and help with the social media side of things along with administration.  With his help, we will be really promoting our ‘Bullying Ends Here Coin’ to be awarded to those who go above and beyond in our communities to help make this world a better place.  I will share more on this as time goes by.  I firmly believe that people should always be recognized for their efforts that go above and beyond.

 

In my downtime this past summer, I was able to work more on the book (Bullying Ends Here – My Life) and add some more/new chapters.  These include some detailed information on what to look for when it comes to bullying along with what some of the thousands of emails from the youth are telling me.  I have developed an initiative called the LAAA concept.  This represents the steps required to help someone who is dealing with bullying.  A snapshot is as follows:

 

1.  LISTEN:  remove any distractions and listen to what the individual has to say.  Do not interrupt or think ahead.

2.  ASK:  when they are done sharing, ask questions to help understand.

3.  AGREE:  come up with a plan TOGETHER on how to work towards a resolution.

4 ACT:  this step is important because you can not skip steps to get here.  You should never act without an agreement in place or you just might make it worse.  Adults do NOT always know best.

 

Learn more about these steps in the book.  You can get yours today at www.bullyingendshere.ca

 

I want to thank those within the Dominion Lending Centres family that have taken the time to follow me on Twitter, email me through the website and/or work hard to have the program visit your community.  It is because of your hard work that the program is where it is today.  More importantly, that there are youth still with us today because of your commitment to helping make this world a better place.  As I always say, together we will not only change lives, but SAVE them.’

Courtesy of Tad Milmine, Founder, Bullying Ends Here