LOS ANGELES, CA – Holly Avenue Elementary School in Arcadia started its first Kindness Club to discourage bullying.
- Kindness Club discouraging bullying
- Goal to focus on being kind early-on
- One in four youths report being bullied at school
“I want to spread kindness everywhere,” said fifth grader Melinda Yu.
Counselor Kamerin Bateman helped a handful of students start the club. She wants them to focus on being kind early-on.
More than one in four youths in grades seven, nine, and eleven have reported being bullied or harassed at school.
“I think this is a proactive approach to bullying,” said Bateman. “We’re fortunate here, we have really kind kids as it is. But I think it’s good to promote this culture of kindness. That way we don’t have the bullying issues that a lot of schools and districts see.”
So far, Kindness Club members have welcomed students with positives messages as they arrived to school, and created gratitude grams to encourage students to give away.
“If they are encouraged to be nice, they’ll be nicer for the rest of their life,” said Yu. “If you don’t be nice what you think will become what you do now and become your habit.”