Thanks for checking in! WE DELIVERED!
LEXI received 83 LETTERS of peer support on 4/14/2016!
LEXI'S 2016 SURPRISE DELIVERY PICTURES:
2017 UPDATE:
Once an Upstander, always an Upstander! We picked up letters for Friend Mail Recipient "Sicily" from Lexi and her parents, Tanya and Joe!! Thank you to Tanya for inspiring her Zumba students to collect them! Tanya, Joe and Lexi have each contributed in such creative, unique ways to the Be-A-Friend Project!! Tanya, who has recruited many Ambassadors for the BAFP - all the way form NY to FL - is now an Official SUPER AMBASSADOR!
We ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ you guys!!
2020 UPDATE:
Lexi is PROOF to kids battling bullies that it will get better - stay strong! Lexi is a 2020 High School Graduate who will be studying Elementary Education to become a teacher! We are certain her class curriculum will include teaching kindness and building empathy as priorities!
~LEXI'S STORY~
Original Post
A case of grade school bullying you're sure to relate to...
and that no one deserves, including this AMAZING GIRL!
Everyone can relate in some way to Lexi's story of "common" grade school bullying. Over 160,000 kids skip school every day in the USA to avoid it. Often, it goes unnoticed by school administrators, bus drivers and parents because the victim may not “tell” and there are no bruises to show. No news cameras are called as when a victim ends up in the emergency room. Yet, statistics show that about 29 percent of grade school kids have experienced some form of it and the invisible scars are very painful and long-lasting. We are proud to shine a light on this story which will not be seen in the news.
News of Lexi's ordeal came directly from her concerned mom who told us:
“My heart breaks for Lexi and for kids in general. School is so stressful and the pressure is unbearable… add in cruel girls and there seems like there is no happy ending.”
Beautiful Lexi is both a victim of bullying and an “Upstander.” She even wrote a "Friend Mail" letter to our first Project Youth! Lexi is a smart, interesting and caring girl from New York with very creative hobbies and ideas about her personal style that cause her to stand out. She loves to express her creativity by baking and decorating theme cakes that bring joy to others. She’s a popular babysitter because she is fun, warm and protective. Lexi first became the target of bullies in 4th Grade after she was the first in her class to color her brunette hair with strands of blue. Classmates taunted her and called her names like “weird.” Verbal bullying led to social bullying when Lexi’s circle of friends began to leave her out of invites to birthday parties and sleepovers only to brag about their fun times in front of her, purposely wanting her to feel like an outcast. Lexi bravely found a new circle of friends… but now, a few grades later, she is once again battling bullies.
In seventh grade, it began with two neighborhood girls who would be friends with Lexi one day and then exclude her the next. While forming close bonds and "posses" is normal among friends, it is not normal to purposely make other kids feel that they are not good enough to join. This hurtful pattern escalated to physical intimidation. A slight thirteen-year-old, Lexi was routinely pushed at the bus stop and had her glasses broken. Lexi’s parents reported the incidents to the school and had conversations with the girls’ parents. Immediately, the physical bullying stopped, but social-bullying tactics have continued. Lexi heard rumors that she would be “jumped” and that “everyone hated her.” The bullying girls made friends with Lexi’s new circle of friends, inviting them over to their homes to play, but not allowing the mutual friends to invite Lexi to play. Recently, she has been cyber-bullied with attempts to humiliate her on social media such as Pinterest and Instagram.
It's a fact... "social pain" tends to produce the most severe stress and the strongest emotional reaction. Understandably, Lexi, recently a high honors student, has been struggling with her classes as her attention has shifted from schoolwork to handling the emotional effects of the bullying. She often feels depressed and wishes she could be home-schooled. She is fortunate to have supportive parents and a good counselor, yet acceptance and friendship of peers is important - for everyone! That’s where YOU and the Be-A-Friend Project make a difference!
DID YOU KNOW?
"SOCIAL BULLYING" accounts for at least 18 percent of all cases of bullying!
It is the most common type of bullying used by girls. Along with spreading rumors to damage the victim's reputation, these bullies will shun another girl from the group on purpose to hurt her and make her feel worthless. WHY? No one deserves to be bullied, ever. Sometimes people think it's funny to hurt another person simply because they are different or maybe they are mad or jealous.
Mostly, bullies are using their victims to make themselves seem more popular…
because bullies don’t have enough self-worth to let someone other than themselves shine.