Another Red Deer school has jumped on board the popular Kind Every Time Tour, a North American anti-bullying program that is picking up speed.
The Kind Every Time program, which encourages children to carry out acts of kindness for 21 days, has just been launched at Poplar Ridge Elementary.
The program was developed by Joe Drexler of Burlington, Ont., to develop leadership, compassion and empathy among students while building on teamwork skills.
Drexler is the founder of Be The Game, an organization dedicated to empowering children in positive ways through sports and anti-bullying programs.
In October, Joseph Welsh Elementary in Red Deer became the first school in Alberta to become Kind Every Time certified and performed over 19,000 acts of kindness — among the highest total for a North American school to date.
Joseph Welsh was soon followed by Fairview Elementary.
Over 125 schools have taken part in the kindness challenge so far, said Drexler, a father of four.
Every one of those schools have “reported an overall decrease in bullying and aggressive behaviour,” he said.
Elizabeth and Brian Urlacher of Hockey Spirit Fundraising Ltd. in Red Deer have been major supporters of Kind Every Time for the past two years and were instrumental is bringing the program to Central Alberta.
Elizabeth came across Drexler’s cause on Twitter and wanted to help spread the word.
The couple is continuing to raise money to support the program and extend it to more local schools by selling Hockey Spirit fundraising calendars.
For more information, visit www.bethegame.ca.