Well hello again my friends. It feels as though its been quite awhile since I last wrote to share some of the amazing updates on Bullying Ends Here. Having enjoyed much of the summer to myself, I was very excited to get this season underway. As it turns out, it was one amazing fall!
As our speaking season officially kicked off on September 23rd in West Vancouver where I did a TEDx talk, it was the start of something very special. I then headed down to Palm Springs to enjoy some quality times with my friends of Dominion Lending Centres. It was so good to catch up again, and to also share some updates on the program. One incredible event yet again!
From October to December, while also fulfilling my duties as a full time Police Officer, I managed to spend two weeks in Nova Scotia, a few days in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island. I have been to Vancouver a few times doing a dozen sessions and then Ontario for a full slate of presentations as well. All in all, the most successful falls tour ever. For much of December, I kept it close to home with a dozen presentations throughout Alberta.
I was also recognized by Molson Canadian as one of Canada’s Top 150 Canadians and was provided one of their iconic red beer fridges personalized with my name on it. Very humbling experience to say the least.
Our final numbers for 2017 include over 125 presentations, numerous media interviews, multiple awards and recognition, 130,000 youth reached, 20,000 emails received and four more young lives saved.
We even had a massive shout-out from the Prime Minister in support of our work. Political stripes aside, to be recognized by the office of the Prime Minister is unreal. We also announced that our Ambassador is Johnny GAUDREAU from the Calgary Flames who is very passionate about doing all he can to help us. We also had support from Brian BURKE, Rick MERCER, Sheldon KENNEDY, Steven PAGE, Travis PRICE and Calgary Mayor NENSHI to mention just a few. All of this lends credibility to our program.
Lately, you may have seen that Bullying Ends Here was awarded a $125,000 grant from Industrial Alliance. This is truly a game changer for us as this money is going directly to creating information packages for teachers and parents on what do, look for and say when bullying is suspected. I have observed multiple times over the years that even if the youth are ready to speak up (what my program strongly encourages), many adults don’t know what to do. These packages are going to be created in partnership with some of Canada’s more recognized experts in the field of bullying. My goal is to have these ready for April. A tight timeline but one I am committed to work towards. I also need to add a massive thank you to everyone at DLC for voting for Bullying Ends Here throughout November. Our win is truly teamwork at its best. We won this TOGETHER!
To be clear, the funds being provided can not be used towards the program the way it is currently. The grant money is very specific as that is what we submitted our proposal for. I am just so excited to get this new extension of the program started and continue to make the lives of our young people better. Currently, because education is a provincial responsibility, each province is responsible for their own teachings and documentation. Because my reach is Canada-Wide, we are in a position to do something that has simply not been done before.
I am now currently working on plans for 2018 and I don’t mind sharing that it is going to be the best yet….BY FAR! I expect our charity to be recognized as one of the top anti-bullying programs in the Country by the end of the year. We are booked to present in every province, again, between January and June alone. We are also targeting a short tour to the United Kingdom as well. Although I projected 2018 to have our target audience numbers in the area of 150,000, I am now thinking it will be closer to 200,000.
As great as these projections are, the truth is that they can only be achieved with your continued sponsorship moving forward. Your individual regions can purchase books or make donations, charitable events….anything really. It all helps. I have updated my availability through June of 2018 if you wanted to book a few presentations in your area. All of the details are on my website www.bullyingendshere.ca
It has been an incredible journey having DLC as our Founding Sponsor over the last few years and I hope that we can continue to not only change lives, but SAVE them for many more years ahead.
I hope to see everyone again very soon.
Your friend,
Tad
Tad Milmine, Founder, Bullying Ends Here