Kiwanis International is returning to Strathmore with an anti-bullying workshop to try and continue making life better for our community's children.

Kiwanis has recently been active in Strathmore in their efforts to make an official club here. Strathmore Kiwanis member Bob Sobol explained at the moment Strathmore doesn't have an official Kiwanis organization, so they are currently working with Cochrane Kiwanis and Calgary Northmount Kiwanis to bring their program here. Sobol said they would need 15 members to make a Strathmore club official, and they are currently at five.

"We are a group focused on trying to do things that will help the kids in our community and that's basically what has attracted me to Kiwanis. They're really focused and their projects are really designed to help the kids in our community," Sobol said, on why people should be interested in joining Kiwanis.

Regarding the anti-bullying workshop, Sobol explained Kiwanis teamed up with PMAST (Peer Mediation and Skills Training) to provide a focused message on anti-bullying, conflict management, and how parents and caregivers can respond to bullying. With one in five children experiencing bullying, Sobol said bullying is a serious issue in our society

"It's the ramifications of bullying and hazing that really is the focus of this. And it's not just the people that are being bullied that is going to be discussed — of course the victim is always the number one priority — but the other victim is the person doing the bullying and somewhere along the line, this chain has got to stop." 

Vice-president of PMAST Elizabeth Bennet will be giving the presentation with three main focuses, being how a parent or caregiver can respond if:

  • Your kid is being bullied
  • Your kid is engaged in bullying others
  • Your kid is witnessing bullying

Bennet is an award-winning principal and author, and Sobol said the presentation will be incredibly useful as it will provide healthy and productive ways to prevent and stop bullying. This is a cause Sobol strongly believes in, saying the ramifications of bullying can have potentially dire consequences if not addressed.

"There's long-lasting results of this (bullying), and there's evidence in a number of studies that suggest that this could even go further, they have found that suicide in youth can be related to bullying, both bullying and being bullied."

The event will be held on April 24 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the Strathmore Civic Centre Chuck Mercer Room. You can RSVP for the event by contacting Kiwanis.Strathmore@gmail.com.

If you are interested in joining Kiwanis Strathmore or want more information, visit their Facebook page, and for more information on Kiwanis in general you can visit their website at Kidsneedkiwanis.org.

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