Anti-bullying campaign takes off in York,
Singer-songwriter’s challenge prompts acts of kindness in York Region, and across the country
A16-year-old spends two hours every Sunday visiting a seniors’ home. A businessman helped a homeless person publish his book of poetry. And a busy mom is “making the extra effort” to cook meals that are healthier for her family and the planet.
York Region is quickly becoming the kindness capital of the world as every day, kids, companies, community members and dozens of schools log their good deeds and thoughtful gestures.
They’ve signed up for a 30-day campaign called “Say My Name Canada” challenging the region’s residents and all Canadians to perform acts of kindness in a bid to stop bullying. And it’s working. Fifteen-year-old Josephine Zeck recently stepped out of the crowd to help a boy being pushed and teased by schoolmates.
“I didn’t think it was fair, the way they were treating him,” the Newmarket teen says. “No one else did anything, so I stepped in to stop it. They all stared at me but they stopped.”
At the heart of the kindness campaign is singer/ songwriter Glenn Marais, who wants to change the way people treat each other.
“I truly believe that it will help to reduce the incidents of bullying that seem to be on the rise,” says the Newmarket musician.
The campaign will culminate in the Feb. 25 video release of a song by the Glenn Marais Band, “Say My Name,” written for a friend’s son who was bullied. Feb. 25 is Pink Shirt Day, which began in 2007 in Nova Scotia, when peers wore pink to support a Grade 9 boy who was taunted for wearing the colour.
Participants in the challenge post the number of acts of kindness they perform on saymynamecanada.com and share stories online.
Peter Cardillo figures people can’t be nasty if they’re being nice. Kindness “is the perfect way to stop (bullying) going into people’s heads and help everyone be better friends,” says the 13-year-old, who was verbally abused by classmates for wearing a ponytail when he was younger.
“It took a toll on the inside. It made me feel kind of worthless,” recalls Peter, who’s helping out at home more.
Maddy Noble, a Grade 11 student at Huron Heights Secondary School, where the song’s video was shot, says she sees bullying everywhere. But she’s also seen the difference kindness can make.
“When people adopt a mindset of being kind, or a good person, it snowballs,” observes the 16-year-old, who volunteers at a retirement home.
In the Zeck household, the teenagers’ “chore” chart has been changed to “acts of kindness,” to reflect the ways they’re helping the family, explains Janine Zeck, who’s busy cook- ing plant-based meals when she’s not running her art school.
“They feel like they’re appreciated and have done something good,” she says of Josephine, 15, and Jacob, 17, who are spending more quality time with their 3-year-old brother, Jasper.
The kindness movement grew out of Positive Classrooms, a school program developed by Marais and a partner to fight social isolation and bullying.
“We visit schools and see how wounded some of these kids are, and it is scary and heartbreaking,” he says.
Kettleby Public School got on board last year because students needed a change from “don’t do this, don’t do that” anti-bullying programs, says principal Karen Goan. “By focusing on small acts of kindness, like a smile or opening the door or picking up a pencil, it created a much more positive environment.”
Grade 8 students became “Ninjas of Nice” to secretly leave little handcrafted gifts on the desks of younger kids.
“It was amazing,” Goan says of the “positive wave” that swept through the school.
“Being nice became socially accepted.”
Positive Classrooms, which provides a curriculum guide, assemblies and personalized rap song for each school, leaves a wake of positive energy, says Marais.
“The difference is like night and day.”
And it gets kids talking, sometimes in powerful ways, he says, recalling the Grade 6 bully who unexpectedly broke down and apologized to her victims.