Charlotte is April/May Friend Mail Recipient!

Apr 19
4 min read

Updated: Apr 23

Years of unrelenting bullying reach a new, heartbreaking peak for 5th Grade BAFP Ambassador and 2022 Friend Mail Recipient, Charlotte (11) from New York.

Charlotte (11) from New York

To know Charlotte is to feel your heart expand. 💕💯

She’s the kind of kid who lights up a room without even trying - the kind who makes you smile within seconds of meeting her. But what makes Charlotte truly extraordinary isn’t just her warmth and kindness… it’s how she gives it away, again and again, even when she’s not receiving it in return.

Charlotte is proud to be on her school's Cheer squad, loves Labubu's and the South American Capybara (an animal known for being extremely friendly and calm) - and she is beloved Be A Friend Project family! Charlotte received Friend Mail in 2022, when she was just 7 years old and in the 1st Grade. Those letters of support remain a lifeline - words she still holds onto when days are hard, even sometimes carrying a letter in her backpack for courage and confidence.

Instead of keeping all that peer support to herself, she has payed it forward to help other kids. Over the past 4 years, she’s helped deliver surprise Friend Mail to two more recipients, Piper (2023) and Hope (2024)! She co-founded a BAFP Kindness Club in her apartment building's community center AND with her sister at her elementary school - for three years leading kindness activities for students, writing kindness notes and making "kindness art" for both students and teachers. She’s written to almost every Friend Mail recipient - even helping to collect thousands of Pokémon cards to bring joy to kids losing hope to bullying.

Charlotte through the years - a cheerleader at heart! 😍

Charlotte shows up for kindness in ways that inspire us all. Her mom shared that her young Upstander even wears anti-bullying slogans to school a few days a week - like in the picture at top! The 5th Grader eagerly volunteered for "No One Eats Alone Day" at school - serving lunch to all the students… and then... she sat down and ate lunch alone. Because, no one will sit with her.

Even though she loves to socialize and play, Charlotte usually skips lunch and recess altogether because the other kids won't talk to her, or they tell her to "go away." Last October, she was attacked in the school yard - punched three times in the back and kicked in the kneecap. Her bullies tell the other students they are not allowed to be Charlotte's friend - isolating and excluding her on purpose - and threatening "trouble" if they dare disobey.

Charlotte tells her mom "I don't feel safe." Every day she fights a mental battle whether to go to school - her fear and heartbreak wanting to keep her home. But, what gives her the strength to keep walking through those school doors? It's her biggest wish: to graduate this June wearing a cap & gown - just like her older siblings did!

Another big dream is to have her own service dog for companionship "to not feel lonely." Charlotte is also a devoted scout - she just earned her Bronze Award in Girl Scouts and also participates in Scouting America.

Charlotte in her scouting vest at an AKC "Meet the Breeds" event.

Charlotte keeps standing up and choosing kindness. Bullies cruelly target her disabilities - including speech, memory and social delays - but regardless, she courageously stepped into the spotlight in March for the school talent show where she recited her original poem: "KINDNESS RULES."

KINDNESS RULES by Charlotte

Be a friend.

Make someone smile each day, and think before you say:

Is it true?

Is it helpful?

Is it kind?

Invite someone new to play Be an upstander everyday

Be strong, be brave, help someone wipe their tears away

Remember: Words matter, words hurt, words can make you cry.

Lift each other up, don't drag each other down.

Be the hero, be the reason someone wants to go to school.

Include everyone.