National Bullying Prevention Month – October 2014

Even though we are at the close of National Bullying Prevention Month, we here at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall (JBM-HH) Army Community Service (ACS) would like to recognize the ongoing battle against Bullying. It is a never ending journey.

National Bullying Prevention and Awareness Week, traditionally held the first week of October, was founded in 2006 by PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center (pacer.org) in order to battle what was historically viewed as "a childhood rite of passage." What started out as a weeklong campaign, soon (in 2010) transformed into a nationally recognized observance to include activities, education, and awareness building for the entire month.

Now every October communities across the United States stand together recognizing this observance. The goal “…[to] encourage communities to work together to stop bullying and cyber bullying by increasing awareness of the prevalence and impact of bullying on all children of all ages.” (stompoutbullying.org/)

To find out what you can do to prevent bullying, please visit any of the sites below:

1. National Bullying Prevention Center (NBPC) is partnered with Facebook, Disney, IBM, Frito Lay and many more to help raise awareness about bullying nationwide. http://www.pacer.org/bullying/

2. STOMP Out Bullying™ founded in 2005 is an “initiative that brings awareness and educates kids, teens, parents and schools about the issue.” http://stompoutbullying.org/index.php/campaigns/national-bullying-prevention-awareness-month/

3. Stopbullying.gov provides “information from various government agencies on what bullying is, what cyber bullying is, who is at risk, and how you can prevent and respond to bullying.” http://www.stopbullying.gov/

4. National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) raises “the standard of care and improve access to services for traumatized children, their families and communities throughout the United States.” http://www.nctsn.org/resources/public-awareness/bullying-prevention-awareness-month

5. White House Blog reports “every youth deserves the opportunity to successfully transition to adulthood.” http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/10/29/national-bullying-prevention-awareness-month