X Games typically means snow sports and snowmobile flips. Shred Hate brings action sports athletes to schools to put a stop to bullying.
The X Games and several of the most innovative bullying prevention programs have joined forces to Shred Hate. No Bully, GLSEN, DoSomething.org and Crisis Text Line along with the X Games have launched this initiative to reduce bulling rates in communities of Colorado and Minnesota. Of course X Games fans from all over can benefit from this great initiative.
The campaign is being supported by the X Games athletes, who held Shred Hate rallies in schools starting last week on the 18th. They visited three schools in Pueblo, Colorado. The extreme winter sports athletes attending the different schools will include Shred Hate spokesperson Jack Mitrani, Aspen natives and Aspen High School alum Torin Yater-Wallace and Alex Ferreira, and two time X Games Gold medalist Chris Klug. Other athletes include 10-time consecutive Snowmobile SnoCross gold medalist Tucker Hibbert and BMX legend Kevin Robinson.
The involvement of these athletes will provide students with a positive message from people they look up to. “I’m beyond excited to be involved with such an inspiring and positive campaign,” said Jack Mitrani. Jack is the X Games Host and a snowboarder.
There really is so much potential with this program, and it is an honor to be working alongside my favorite action sports athletes as well as the X Games platform to collaboratively make a positive impact in Colorado, Minnesota and across the country.”
One of these positive-message-pushing groups, No Bully, is working with ESPN to provide an enriched bullying-prevention curriculum in schools. This program will allow teachers and school leaders to be coached on how to lead culture change across their schools. The goal is to sustain a learning environment where all students feel included. No Bully doesn’t just stop at schools; the program also engages parents, guardians, and civic leaders to ensure a “community-centric” approach to bullying prevention.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUxzjHvkvLI
According to the ESPN Shred Hate press release, the last independent report on the organization shows that schools trained by No Bully were able to remedy an inspiring 90% of bullying cases.
GLSEN will also lend a hand by helping schools become safer and more inclusive for LGBTQ students. These students experience far higher levels of bias-based bullying and harassment than their non-LGBTQ peers. It’s been shown that hostile school environments result in LGBTQ students to be half as likely to participate in school sports and other activities. No one should feel as though they don’t belong.
From last week through the X Games events, several schools around Colorado will be visited by the Shred Hate crew. Participating schools include: East High School, Heaton Middle School and Risley International Academy of Innovation in Pueblo; Aspen High School; Glenwood Springs High School; and Carbondale Middle School.
[caption id="attachment_7883" align="aligncenter" width="700"]
Aspen Times[/caption]
Action sports can be a positive avenue for athletes and youth whose individuality may not fit into ‘traditional’ team sports,” said Kevin Martinez, vice president of ESPN Corporate Citizenship. “In that regard, ESPN has used its X Games platform to launch Shred Hate to help students choose kindness and reach them no matter what stage they might be in — to prevent bullying from happening, to help those already affected and reach those who are in a state of crisis.”
X Games Shred Hate will also work with several other organizations to assist in bullying prevention all over the U.S. One of these organizations is Crisis Text Line, which works to make sure those being bullied have someone to talk to when they are struggling.
All they have to do is text BULLY to 741741.
DoSomething.org will also encourage its 5 million members to write a negative story, or idea they want to overcome on a large piece of paper. Next, get out a camera, then shred that paper up. Photos will be posted and shared through social media to show that people are taking a stand against bullying.
