National Voices for Equality, Education and Enlightenment (NVEEE) Launches Nationwide Search for Student Leaders to be Trained as Anti-Bullying Peace Ambassadors
Fort Lauderdale, FL (PRWEB) July 17, 2013 -- On Saturday, July 27, 2013, National Voices for Equality, Education and Enlightenment (NVEEE) will host its first summer training session for students at the Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale, FL, inside the SunServe Youth Center from 10:00am - 5:00pm. The session is open to students in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties who begin training as Peace Ambassadors and Agents of Change for the 2013-2014 school year. Registration is open through October using this link: http://tinyurl.com/kpxjkyr.
NVEEE’s Peace Ambassador Program is a leadership program comprised of students who serve as advocates, upstanders, and leaders in the fight against bullying, suicide and violence in their various schools and communities. “Studies have shown that youth are more likely to listen and respond to other youth in educational interventions, setting the stage for them to serve as role models. Education is an essential component of how NVEEE engages families and communities in moving towards social change,” said Jowharah Sanders, founder of NVEEE. “This is why we created the Peace Ambassador Program.” These students attend leadership trainings throughout the school-year on various topics including: distinguishing bullying behavior vs. conflict, types of bullying, laws & legal ramifications of bullying, mean girls, frenemies, bullying in the special needs community, anti-gay bullying, the effects of bullycide, how to talk to parents and trusted adults about bullying and self-harm, how to address bullying when it happens, and most of all how to prevent bullying before it even starts. They learn to get to the root of the problem. After months of intensive training, these students co-facilitate NVEEE’s workshops in K-12 public and private schools, speaking to parents, teachers, students, administrators, support staff, faith based communities and more.
Through a partnership with the "Be a Star" anti-bullying campaign, co-founded by the WWE and The Creative Coalition, NVEEE peace ambassadors have gained a strong appreciation for the Arts which resulted in a new component being added to its signature “Not on My Watch” Anti-Bullying Workshops and its Peace Ambassador program. Along with incorporating multiple contests for schools to participate in, including creating their own public service announcements and anti-bullying pledges, many ambassadors write original music, teach each other to play instruments, and at the end of every school workshop a peace ambassador performs. "Being able to educate children and parents is an honor and a privilege I don’t take in vain. It makes me feel empowered, and it helps me go to sleep at night knowing that I made a difference in this world. Having the opportunity to use my voice as a singer to connect with students on another level is exciting and something dreams are made of. This program is groundbreaking in more ways than one,” said NVEEE Peace Ambassador Katie Steel, who is also headlining an anti-bullying musical tour this summer.
For some students, the program is cathartic as they are encouraged to share their experiences around bullying and how they’ve overcome them. “For Verona, becoming a peace ambassador for NVEEE and being able to use her horrible experience for good has made such a positive impact in both of our lives,” says a parent whose daughter participates in the program. “Just the few workshops where I have watched her speak have opened my eyes to a whole new world that I never knew could exist. With each workshop my daughter has felt the need to completely open herself up to everything that has happened to her and how she has taken a stand against it. This program has been a beacon of light and should be implemented in school systems, aftercare, and any place where inappropriate behavior could take place.”
To learn more about the benefits and responsibilities of students in the program, please visit http://www.nveee.org/peace-ambassador-program/. For sponsorship opportunities or to donate to the program please contact us via email or call 954.561.2626. Online donations are accepted on their website at http://www.NVEEE.org.
Jowharah Sanders, NVEEE, http://www.NVEEE.org, 954.561.2626, [email protected]
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