According to StopBullying.gov, between 1 in 4 and 1 in 3 students in the United States are bullied at school or online. 70.6% of young people say they have seen bullying in their schools. When bystanders intervene, bullying stops within 10 seconds 57% of the time. Most bullying happens in middle school. In one large study, about 49% of children in grades 4–12 reported being bullied by other students at school at least once during the past month, whereas 30.8% reported bullying others during that time. Female youth are more likely than males to report being the targets of rumors and sexual comments. Females are more likely to spread gossip or encourage others to reject or exclude another girl. The effects of bullying can last into adulthood. Source: https://www.stopbullying.gov/media/facts/index.html

Based on those numbers, Mason County FCS decided to hold an educational day camp for girls over summer break. The ages of the girls ranged from 9-13 to reach the 4th grade where bullying starts to the middle school age where bullying happens the most. The day camp was limited to 15 girls and 12 attended. The point of the day camp was to educate the girls on the significance of standing up to bullies, what to do if they were being bullied, and how to help someone who was being bullied. Other topics discussed were healthy self-esteem, qualities of good friendships and relationships, and qualities of bad friendships/relationships. The girls also wanted to learn about “frienemies” and they provided good knowledge and help to each other about how to handle situations like that. During the day camp, the girls also learned about kitchen and food safety by preparing their own lunches and healthy desserts. Several activities were done throughout the day to show the girls different ways to eliminate stress and anxiety like painting, making slime, and making lip balm. 

When the girls were dropped off that morning, only two girls knew each other. By the end of the day, several had exchanged phone numbers and snapchats so they could keep in touch with their new friends. One parent said to me, “I was so afraid she wouldn’t have any fun because she is so shy, but she really opened up and made several friends at your program.” Another parent recently reached out to me to let me know that her daughter was going through a rough time with bullies at the end of the school year last year, but this school year she has more self-confidence, doesn’t let the bullies get to her, and is able to open up to her parents and teachers about when she is getting bullied.