Dear Supporter,

Keeping children safe is one of the most important things we do as parents, educators or other caring adults. So, it’s hard not to react when you hear such a troubling statistic: One in five Canadian youth report being bullied regularly. Braiden Turner was one such youth who was bullied so severely for years that she developed an eating disorder as a way of coping with the harassment.

Bullying started affecting Braiden’s life as early as grade three, when she moved to a new school. "I was bullied because I was the new girl, tall and also because of my weight," Braiden explains. "It lasted from grade three to eleven."

Braiden dealt with the bullying by not eating. It started with a diet, then she became a vegetarian, then vegan and eventually she just stopped eating altogether. While there were a lot of witnesses to the bullying Braiden endured over the years most didn’t want to get involved, until one day when her high school science teacher approached her. "He told me that he was really worried about me and didn’t want me to die. Then he started to cry," Braiden shares. "He was the person who gave me the first bit of food in weeks and literally saved my life. He made me realize I needed help."

For over 25 years the Canadian Red Cross, through its RespectED: Violence & Abuse Prevention programs, has been working to break the cycle of hurt experienced by Braiden and other children who are bullied, abused or exploited. Education is the key to prevention and we need your help to continue our important work. For example, did you know that when youth stand up and speak out against bullying they are successful in stopping the behaviour 57% of the time in about 10 seconds? Help us continue to educate and put a stop to bullying.

By donating to the Canadian Red Cross Fund you will be working alongside us as we build the capacity of Canadian communities to respond to and prevent bullying and harassment. You can also learn more about the RespectED Bullying Prevention Education program called Beyond the Hurt.

Thank you for helping us keep Canadian children safe.

Sincerely,

Leslie Dunning
Director General, Violence & Abuse Prevention
Canadian Red Cross

P.S. - Bullying is not a normal part of growing up and can even be criminal in some cases. But you have the power to stop bullying and harassment by supporting our work.

Donate now and help us put a stop to bullying.

What Are People Saying About Beyond the Hurt:

"The Red Cross Beyond the Hurt workshop fits perfectly with our Board’s character education model, which involves preparing learners to be responsible, caring and contributing citizens, we have had excellent success implementing Beyond the Hurt at Huron Heights," Beverly Madigan, Vice Principal, Huron Heights Secondary School.

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