Welcome October!
It’s hard to believe it is October already. This time of year brings lots of activities and events, like softball tournaments, Halloween parties, and holiday planning. There will be lots of things going on and lots to talk about, but in the midst of everything going on, ASN will be focusing on two very important things this month:
First, ASN’s Northwest Arkansas Community Parent Resource Center (you may know them as the Family Support Program as well) is rallying our community to participate in Anti-Bullying Awareness Month this Year for the month of October as well as Unity Day on October 19th.
Although only 10 U.S. studies have been conducted on the connection between bullying and developmental disabilities, all of these studies found that children with disabilities were two to three times more likely to be bullied than their nondisabled peers. National Bullying Prevention Month is a nationwide campaign founded in 2006 by PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center. The campaign is held during the month of October and unites communities around the world to educate and raise awareness of bullying prevention. Over the past 10 years, this campaign grew from a small week-long event to a worldwide effort with multiple activities throughout October. National Bullying Prevention Month is supported by hundreds of schools, major corporations, and celebrities.
We invite you to join all of us at ASN to be a part of this exciting anniversary and spread the message: The End of Bullying Begins With Me! You can do this in five important ways this coming month:
- Sign the our pledge to UNITE AGAINST BULLYING – promise not to participate in bullying and intervene if you see someone being bullied at this link (this also enters you to win a prize pack including a UNITY DAY shirt, custom gourmet cookies, and more!)
- Wear orange on Wednesday, October 19th in support of Unity Day – proudly show your colors in your community – at the workplace, school, out, wherever you go! You can purchase an official shirt here for $12 (proceeds are donated to pacer.org) or any orange wearable item that you may have or can find will work.
- Spread awareness in our community – call attention to our cause via Social Media. You can do this throughout the month of October, but we want to especially focus on it during Unity Day. Use the official hashtag #unityday2016 or any others that fit such as #makeitorangemakeitend #antibullyingawareness #bullyingprevention or share NWACPRC or Pacer’s posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
- Hand out or share different fact sheets and toolkits available from Pacer at http://www.pacer.org/bullying/resources/– there are free bookmarks, information handouts, bullying info and facts, and more that can be printed out or emailed to be shared with others in your communities and circles.
- Sign up for our email campaign for weekly reminders and updates on Anti-Bullying Awareness Month on ways to keep momentum going, get involved and share with others
Second, ASN will be focusing this month’s Spotlight Series on the Athletes of ASN. Check out our blog each week during the month of October to learn about some of the amazing athletes at ASN. We look forward to sharing the athletic accomplishments of both individuals receiving services and employees.