LEXI'S FRIEND MAIL DELIVERY ON JUNE 21ST, 2021, WAS EPIC and transformational thanks to Teacher, Jimmie Baker, and her FCCLA students from Granger High School who drove an hour to surprise Lexi after softball practice BY ARRIVING ON A DECORATED BUS to present her Friend Mail bin along with their in-person support and kindness!!! Awesome 2021 Friend Mail Recipient and UPSTANDER, EMMA, came to show her support for Lexi, too!! WOW!!
- LEXI'S STORY, POSTED MAY 2021 -
Lexi (13) no longer believes the world is kind
after enduring 5 years of ongoing, severe bullying.
Let's show her the kindness!
Lexi is an 8th Grader from central Texas who loves softball, coloring, drawing and is a big fan of University of Baylor sports. According to her mom, Lexi has always been extremely silly and goofy - a total "social butterfly" and a "pleaser" who doesn't take life too seriously.
Highly intelligent, Lexi learned to read and write very early. She loved school and was always "that kid that's really good with teachers." Her mom says she gets along with anyone; in her eyes, there is no outcast - no matter race or gender identity, she is interested in talking about everything, whether sports or make-up, and always forgives and forgets easily. Despite being a 13-year-old as cool as all that, the bullying she endured was so devastating that her parents pulled her out of school in August of 2020.
The bullying started in 3rd grade by three girls who had been best friends with Lexi - and it escalated when they entered middle school together in 6th Grade. Lexi has never understood why her former best friends turned on her, excluding her from group chats and texts, telling her "kill yourself" and that "nobody likes you" but "no one has the courage to tell you." They cussed her out in class - calling her "annoying" and "stupid." Lexi quit the Student Council when the bullies, also Council members, told her not to sit with them or near them at their meetings.
In the fall of 7th Grade, Lexi bravely reported the bullying at school, but as a consequence, she believes she never made the school's volleyball and track teams after try-outs because the 3 bullies were favorites of the Coach's. The administration made a "Social Distancing Contract" between the girls, but the bullies broke the contract weekly - sometimes encouraged by the same Coaches - who were also teachers - who would welcome the bullies into Lexi's proximity, violating the Distancing Contract. This created overwhelming anxiety for Lexi who did not feel protected in the very place she needed to feel safe to learn. Lexi lost weight and could not gain it back. Her anxiety drove her to chop off 6" of her hair as a plea for help.
THIS YOUTUBE INTRODUCTION OF LEXI by our On-Air Super Teen Ambassador, Brielle Withers, is a good choice for young students to learn her story:
The mental and physical health of Lexi's parents also suffered as the negative effects of severe and ongoing verbal, social and cyber attacks on a child always impacts the entire family. They felt they had no other option to protect their daughter but to pull her out of school just 9 months ago. The family moved from their "forever home" and Lexi now plays softball and basketball on homeschool leagues.
Lexi's family's worldview has been altered after five years of cruelty. As Lexi's mom explains, when Lexi was growing up, they drilled into her head to be nice and kind to everyone - but now they are teaching her to start first with herself; that she needs first to feel safe in an encounter - mentally, physically and emotionally - before making herself vulnerable by giving from her heart with an act of kindness. (Much like flight attendants will instruct passengers in an emergency to put on their own oxygen mask first before trying to help someone else with theirs.)
AMBASSADORS, WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO FILL-UP LEXI'S "TANK" WITH KINDNESS AND SUPPORT - AND PROVE TO HER THAT THERE ARE MORE FRIENDS THAN BULLIES IN THE WORLD!
"CHANGE ONE LIFE AND YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD. IT'S IN YOUR HANDS!"
THE DUE DATE FOR LEXI'S LETTERS IS JUNE 7TH!
Friend Mail must arrive in our NY office for review by the Due Date to be included in the surprise delivery! THE LAST DELIVERY OF THE 2020-2021 SEASON!
Mail "PHYSICAL" letters to:
Be A Friend Project
449 Lane Gate Road
Cold Spring, NY 10516
Email letters, videos, scans & Google Drive links, send to:
jennifer@beafriendproject.org
-OR-
