Milwaukee Garden District Features GAB at March Meeting.
What an enthusiastic crowd at the Water Tower in Milwaukee, WI. The Garden District (Milwaukee’s 13th Ward) invited Generations Against Bullying to be the featured program at their March monthly meeting. The Garden District strives to improve the quality of life through civic involvement and community education.
James Dean, GAB Executive Assistant introduced GAB and why we are such a unique, anti-bully organization. James introduced the concepts of bystander and upstander explaining that if an upstander acts in a non-threatening way the bullying will stop within 10 seconds 85% of the time. He went on to explain that all of GAB’s programs are centered on creating upstanders.
GAB’s special speaker, Michael Turner then took the stage to speak about his life and the importance of choices. “The choices you make can make or break you”. Michael then described how he had made some bad decisions that nearly cost him his life. “It was subsequent positive decisions to head in a different direction that allows me to be here tonight. I became an upstander for myself, and you can too. And as important, you can be an upstander for someone else, which just might save their life. (Michael pointed out the GAB poster of the pictures of children who have committed suicide, one as young as 6 years.) Bullycide is now one of the leading causes of death in our middle school age children. If there was just one person to be an upstander in these children’s lives they might still be with us today-be an upstander.”
Linda Lee, GAB Executive Director, thanked Dawn Riegel and Connie Wilson of the Garden District for their wonderful hospitality and the privilege to meet their community. Linda illustrated another way why GAB is different-
“We answer the phone. Try and get hold of another anti-bully organization. No one will answer the phone or get back to you. We will.“