An Ontario-born initiative wherein students send kind letters to kids under 12 years of age who have been bullied or who have low self-esteem has spread to a Prince Edward Island kindergarten class.
Vanessa MacDonald, a kindergarten teacher at Mount Stewart Consolidated School, said she was scrolling through Facebook when she noticed a post asking for people who would be willing to join Friend Send, which was started by an Ontario woman and her twins in 2017 in order to help kids feel a little less alone.
“I thought that it would be really good for my class,” she told CTV News Channel.
Since her students are too young to write messages, they are colouring in a book with inspirational messages for a young girl who is being bullied at school because of her weight. The book’s messages include “be strong,” “choose happy” and “believe in yourself.”
“The kids initially were really sad for the girl, but then they realized they could do something to help,” MacDonald said. “We’re hoping that those messages will help her out on a down day.”
She introduced her class to the project by reading them a book about a little girl who feels sad when she compares herself to those around her, but eventually realizes “that she is enough.” Social media, she added, makes it easier for kids to feel anxious and depressed when they compare themselves and their lives to those of their friends.
The Friend Send has sent out more than 1,000 cards since 2017. Its founder was spurred to start the initiative after seeing multiple posts about kids having no one show up to their birthday parties.
