Be The Game promotes kindness to end bullying

STORY AND PHOTOS BY JONATHAN FERGUSON

A different way to approach anti-bullying is travelling across Canada to spread the message of kindness.

Founded in 2008 by Joe Drexler, 41, Be The Game is an organization that makes changes to children’s lives by helping build confidence, self esteem, character and builds leadership skills.

Through Be the Game, Drexler launched the 21-Day Kind Everytime challenge in September, 2012, and has seen a lot of success for the program.

“Bullying is a learned habit,” said Drexler, “and can be unlearned as well.”

Drexler visits schools and interacts with students, teaching them to be kind to each other always, no matter what someone looks or sounds like.

Unlike other anti-bullying programs, Be The Game speaks with students instead of to them.

Where most programs only visit the school, talk to the students briefly, answer a few questions and leave, Drexler and his daughter Samantha spend the entire day going class to class spreading their message of being kind everytime.

“The program focuses on actions that kids should do, how to be kind, not how to not be a bully.”Said Anna Smith, Vice-Principal of Guardian Angels Elementary School in Milton.

Students were brought into the gym class by class to interact directly with Joe and Samantha, where the kids were asked what they defined kindness to be and reasons why people may bully others.

At each event, father and daughter challenge the students to record acts of kindness to each other through pictures or any creative way they can think of for 21 days.

After the 21 days there is a celebration, and Joe and Samantha return to the school to reward students for their acts of kindness, including a congratulatory video from NHL stars such as Buffalo Sabre Marcus Foligno and Former New York Islander Ryan O’Marra.

Currently there have been 463,000 acts of kindness recorded according to Joe, and  he hopes to reach over one million acts of kindness by the end of this year.

“Bullying has changed since I was a kid. Back in my day you could go home and lock the door and be done with it,” said Joe. “Now you have social media networks and multimedia devices where people can reach you where ever you are.”

Joe believes he can end bullying at its root by teaching students to be kind, and eventually bullying will be a forgotten habit.

The challenge encourages students to be leaders in their community and classroom, assigning a few students from each class to be Kind Every Time leaders, carrying on Joes message and mission until the 21 days are complete.

“A big problem for schools is most anti-bullying programs visit the school and after presenting, students go home for the day then come in the next completely forgetting about what was told to them,” said Joe. “The 21-day Challenge fixes that problem.”

At the end of each presentation Samantha explains that hapiness is something we discover on our own.

“We all need different things, and we all want different things, but I think eventually we learn to find our own happiness on our own terms, despite the pain other people cause us,” said Samantha. “It doesn’t matter what people think about you, at the end of the day, you should just stay true to who you are, and do what makes you happy.”

Joe and Samantha are travelling all of Canada spreading their message and mission, and also have events booked at schools in the U.S. that are eager to get on board with their mission.

“I really don’t believe that kids actually want to hurt each other,” said Joe, “It’s about taking action, conditioning the mind set to make the change, because you can do it.”

Facebook, twitter, instagram for Joe and Sam

Students can help Be The Game by answering the Call To Action, where your donation of $3.65 a year (a penny a day) will help up to seven kids achieve their dreams.