Campaign for Bully-Free Communities initiatives

MIDDLETOWN — Members of the Council of Business Partners at the Community Foundation of Middlesex County have announced new partnerships and new initiatives for the Campaign for BullyFree Communities, a collaborative effort focused on making every community in Middlesex County, and beyond, bully-free.

Highlights include the naming of Renee DiNino, Director of Community Affairs for iHeartRadio, as Chief Ambassador for the campaign; the announcement of an October 4 date for the fifth annual Rally For Bully-Free Communities at Empower Leadership Sports in Middletown; and the development of a community-based cyber-bullying prevention program.

DiNino will help give voice to the issues of negative social behavior and shine a light on the people and resources for empowering individuals to choose kindness, respect and positive change. Show topics include programs funded by the CFMC Council of Business Partners, a philanthropic group of local business people who pool their resources to support positive youth development. Through their partnership with Rushford mental health professionals, a schoolbased program was developed, and has now helped close to 10,000 educators, students, school bus drivers recognize and prevent negative social behaviors.

The effort was then expanded with the launch of the Campaign for Bully-Free Communities in partnership with the Connecticut Association of Schools, Empower Leadership Sports, The First Tee of Connecticut, iCRV Radio, and former NBA/UConn basketball star and campaign spokesperson Donny Marshall. Each year, middle school and high school students and educators are invited to attend the Rally For Bully-Free Communities during National Bullying Prevention Month in October.

This year, the fifth annual rally will take place on October 4 at Empower Leadership Sports in Middletown, host site since the inaugural year. In addition to team building activities and inspirational student speakers, Ms. DiNino will emcee the event while Donny Marshall will share his personal story.

The CFMC Council of Business Partners has also supported a series of internet safety speaker programs. Vista Life Innovations, a organization providing life skills training programs to individuals with developmental disabilities, saw the need to provide internet safety training. With grant support from CFMC, Vista worked with consultant Internet Safety Concepts to develop three training sessions covering the risks involved with sharing information on the Internet while teaching best practices for safety and privacy protection. Programs on cyberbullying and internet safety are also in development with the first dates being scheduled through the Clinton PTA and at Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Middletown. For information on these or other programs being supported by the Council of Business Partners, contact the Community Foundation of Middlesex County at 860-347-0025 or www.MiddlesexCountyCF.org.