No Bullying Bear Foundation

Well, welcome back. Bullying can have a lasting impact on a child's self-esteem. The No Bullying Bear Foundation is working to teach kids kindness, empathy, and inclusion. And joining us to talk about that mission and how students can help make a difference is Sierra Hosen, president and founder of the No Bullying Bear Foundation. Thanks so much for joining us, Sierra. Thank you so much. And of course, No Bullying Bear is here with us as well. I love that there's like a mascot to it. So kids can understand just kind of like how friendly it is. Tell us a little bit, though, about how you came across building this foundation. So when I first started this foundation, I was really excited about the opportunity to engage with the children. But what I realized is that bullying was such an impactful issue that went unaddressed. And so essentially, there was a story about a young girl. She had just finished her treatment with cancer. She came back to school. She was excited. She run the bill, you know, and kind of went through that process. And when she got into the school building, there were children there who really didn't understand the dynamics and the impact that she had gone through. So they were teasing her and bullying her. and it really broke her self-esteem and broke her emotion and something in me just was like listen i have to create something that's gonna make an impact on these children to help them to understand how impactful that their statements can be and how impactful that their choices can make it's hard for children that maybe feel like they don't fit in or it might be even more pressure to feel like to do what they need to do to try to fit in and i think that's where a lot of bullying comes from is sometimes just being misunderstood or saying wait they don't look like me i want to pick on them a little bit. What do you say to the person that's being picked on to try to help them in those moments? So one of the things I teach the children when we do our school assemblies is that the two people or the three people that are bullying you versus the people that love you. So if we were to do a scale, think about the two people that may have said something to you that hurt your feelings. But think about the thousand people that actually love you, that care about you. And if we were to put a scale to it and measure it, you have more people that love you than those who have said something mean or unkind to you. So I really talk to them about self-esteem and really get them to engage in loving themselves. Because if I love me, you love me, I love me, when someone says something, it won't really affect me as much. What about for other kids that might see bullying? How can they step in and use their voice to stand up and help in these moments? So essentially, we created a buddy program. And so those students can go around to the school and assist other students who may experience bullying, who may feel like they're isolated, who may feel alone. And so we created this system where they could connect with students who feel like they need that extra voice. So the voice for the voiceless is what we call it. So our ambassadors, they go around, they wear their badges, they walk around the school building, and they're kind of like on patrol in the schools. And they're telling other kids, listen, this behavior is not cool. We won't tolerate it. It's zero bullying here. How is No Bullying Bear as he sits here and is just very welcoming? How is he received amongst the students? And like, how does that kind of help get your message across? Well, I would say he's sort of a celebrity. When he goes into the schools, I tell you, the kids go crazy. I kind of step aside because he's a true celebrity. He's the fan there. I don't know if you remember McGruff the Crime Dog. Yes. About 40 years ago. I'm not going to share my age, but when we were in school, we had McGruff the Crime Dog. And so the No Bullying Bear, essentially, he was created because he gives the idea and the impression of there's a symbol of hope for children. And so those children who don't feel loved, those children who are experiencing, he's that symbol for hope. And so when he comes, they go ballistic. And just the impact when you realize maybe a kid is being bullied, you know, has a certain extra confidence to be able to walk away from that experience. How have you found that? You know, it's been exciting and yet challenging. So the biggest thing is that it breaks my heart to see, you know, eight-year-old, nine-year-old students who are feeling down or feeling like they're not good enough. And so essentially while we're teaching them about bullying, we're also teaching them about, listen, the most important thing that you can ever do is love you. Because if you love you enough, it doesn't matter what anyone says. You can kind of get through it. You can make it. And so I teach the children also about leadership. Because if I'm a leader, if I'm in a leadership role, people are looking at me to be influenced. And it can make a huge difference, again, if you are being bullied, to your point, to remember that you are loved. And also if you're seeing somebody being bullied, to speak up for them as well. No Bullying Bear thanks you so much for joining us, Sierra, here. So if you want more information, it's right there on the screen at NoBullyingBearFoundation.org. Marissa and Makia. All right. Thanks so much, Julie.