LUDLOW, Vt. – According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, one out of every five students ages 12-18 in the United States has been bullied – and it doesn’t stop there.
Students who experience bullying are at increased risk for depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, lower academic achievement, and dropping out of school, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fortunately, the National Bullying Prevention Center says more than half of bullying situations (57%) stop when a peer intervenes on behalf of the student being bullied.
These alarming statistics are just a glimpse into why the North Country Chevy Dealers, a group of 15 Chevrolet dealerships in northern New York, Vermont, and northern New Hampshire, have partnered with Sweethearts & Heroes, a bullying and suicide prevention program, since 2018.
Sweethearts & Heroes provides hope and empowerment to help lessen bullying and its impact by sharing messages of anti-bullying practices to students and teachers alike. The goal is to teach students to enforce anti-bullying practices, not just during National Bullying Prevention Month in October, but all year long. Through Sweethearts & Heroes, the North Country Chevy Dealers have impacted hundreds of elementary, middle school, and high school students in more than a dozen schools across the region, and over 75 educators as well.
The Sweethearts & Heroes team is Tom Murphy, director and founder, of St. Albans, Vt.; retired U.S. Army Sgt. Rick Yarosh, a HOPE expert and motivational speaker from New York who was burned severely while serving in Iraq; and Pat Fish, BRAVES and Circle leader.
Sweethearts & Heroes’ partnership with the North Country Chevy Dealers began at Peru High School, in Peru, N.Y. Today, students and staff at Peru High School have fully embraced the Sweethearts & Heroes curriculum, and the school offers popular courses based on the Sweethearts & Heroes BRAVES program.
“The North Country Chevy Dealers have partnered with Sweethearts & Heroes for several years. Their presentations are incredibly impactful, and leave a lasting impression on the students they connect with,” said Duane Coute, of Littleton Chevrolet in Littleton, N.H. Coute is also current president of the North Country Chevy Dealers Local Marketing Association (LMA) of Burlington, Vt. – Plattsburgh, N.Y. “Many administrators, staff, and teachers from the schools that have participated have returned to us with positive feedback, stating that this is exactly what their students needed to hear, presented in a unique way. When you see students in the audience completely engaged in the discussion, you know it’s making a difference. The personal interaction after the presentation is where students feel a sense of hope, love, and worth. We feel fortunate to work with Tom, Rick and the entire Sweethearts & Heroes team. Their organization allows us to continue to make a positive impact in our local communities.”
Benson’s Chevrolet sponsored two days of Sweethearts & Heroes work, featuring Tom Murphy and Rick Yarosh, last February at Green Mountain Union High School (GMUHS). Their teammate, Pat Fish, returned to GMUHS in early November to follow up with Circles.
“This is a program we are very proud to sponsor,” said George Benson of Benson’s Chevrolet. “Anything we can do to help support our schoolchildren is what it’s all about. We all want joy and happiness, and it starts with our young children and adults.
Growing up in today’s world is very challenging for all our children, as we all know. Sweethearts & Heroes provides an extra opportunity for our children, so they don’t get ‘left in the dark.’ This is not our first sponsorship for Sweethearts & Heroes, and the feedback we’ve received from the teachers confirms that Sweethearts & Heroes is truly helping our community.”
Sweethearts & Heroes is a student empowerment and empathy activation team that aims to prevent bullying and suicide, with a focus on the basic components of social-emotional learning (SEL). Sweethearts & Heroes offers a profound, engaging signature presentation that calls for HOPE (Hold On, Possibilities Exist), empathy, and action; Circle, which is built on the ancient ritual of communicating in a circle to build empathy; and BRAVES Buddies, which trains older students in bully drills that they, in turn, teach to students in lower grades.
For more than 16 years, Sweethearts & Heroes has presented what Murphy calls “‘the ‘stop, drop and roll’ of bullying” to more than 2.5 million students in school districts from New England to Hawaii and north into Canada. Sweethearts & Heroes also tailors its presentations and workshops for businesses, nonprofits, and civic groups. Murphy said, “We go where we’re needed. That’s what heroes do.”
For more information on Sweethearts & Heroes, visit www.sweetheartsandheroes.com.