Fundraiser to boost anti-bullying efforts for Denver schools

A Nov. 12 anti-bullying event at Thomas Jefferson High School takes a novel approach to empowering youth: It’s an “Anti-Bullying Anti-Luncheon” for anti-bullying programs in Denver schools.

The 11 a.m. event will support Challenge Denver, a nonprofit that works with Teach for America and Challenge Day National to help students connect with classmates and establish a sense of respect for individuality.

“The program began as a concerned parent seeing a lot of bullying,” said Betsy Leighton, founder of Challenge Denver. “My daughter grew up in a culture where she was scared to go to school. It is a reality to these kids. Feeling bullied. Feeling isolated.” 

Challenge Denver cited stompoutbullying.org, which reported that one out of four teenagers are bullied in America, that at least 160,000 students nationwide stay home from school each day due to fear of harassment, and nine out of 10 LGBT students are bullied in class or online.

“If we’re not really looking into hearts, and we’re not looking into how they [students] are being treated, then we’re missing a major piece of the puzzle,” said Leighton, referencing the low graduation rate in Denver. Denver Public Schools reported that 56 percent of high school students graduated on time in 2011, with a dropout rate of 6.4 percent (a total of 2,292 DPS students).

When a student from her daughter’s high school committed suicide, Leighton worked with the principal to bring in a mentoring program called Challenge Day. “Here is a program where I can bring together every student from every walk of life and teach them what’s really happening between each other.”

Challenge Day was founded in 1987 by Yvonne and Rich Dutra-St. John to cultivate tolerance and acceptance through programs that “demonstrate the possibility of love and connection through the celebration of diversity, truth, and full expression.” More than one million students have participated as of 2010, and Challenge Day has sprung up in the Netherlands, Amsterdam and Uganda.

Leighton is now the executive chairman of Challenge Day National. “To see the level of acceptance that can happen with a program like Challenge Day coming in was really beautiful. Challenge Denver is a place to have kids feel safe enough so that they can really excel in all areas of human development.”

Since 2006, Challenge Denver has reached more than 15,000 DPS middle and high school students, and has been implemented in more than 23 Denver public schools.

“Challenge day, in short, is a party for the human heart,” said Sean Flikke, a Challenge Day leader. “It’s a seven-hour experiential workshop designed to weave in social emotional tools for both adults and students. It builds community and compassion between people.”

Flikke explained how Challenge Day begins with activities designed to create a sense of inclusion. “We create a safe container and allow people to be honest about who they are and what they go through; and it’s amazing to see what happens.”

An afternoon activity invites students to gather in small circles called “families” that consist of about five students and one adult volunteer. Each student opens with the line, “If you really knew me,” followed by something the student would like to share.

“There are some very powerful opportunities for genuine emotional connection between people,” Flikke said.

Leighton added, “I’ve never walked out of a Challenge Day where everyone didn’t get something from it or feel more connected.” She cited an example of a DPS transgender student. “It was amazing, the transformation. After Challenge Day, to see her singing show tunes in the hallway and really coming outside of herself.”

A following activity involves students to step forward over a line if their answer is yes to a particular question – such as if they or someone they know has been a victim of bullying. One of the categories includes harassment of LGBT people.

“The wording is really crucial,” Flikke said, “because it says, ‘Please cross if you or any friend or family member that you know of is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.’ What it does is it creates a real sense of safety. Some people are crossing for family members. Some people are crossing for friends. Some people are crossing for themselves.”

Flikke added that he’s seen as much as 90 percent of students cross the line to a single category. The impact of seeing so many affected by bullying “leads into the real powerful teach of the language that we use, where the term gay is used as an insult or a put down. It’s not just one or two people who might be seen as different. All of these hearts in this room are affected.”

Leighton added, “Every Challenge Day I can say, we save lives.”

Family members are encouraged to volunteer for Challenge Day; the next events are scheduled for Nov. 28 and 29 at Thomas Jefferson High School and Nov. 30 at West College Academy.

The upcoming fundraiser features State Sen. Michael Johnston and is sponsored by the restaurant Smashburger. Leighton organized the event in a high school cafeteria to remind participants “what it is like to be in a school again. Let’s get back in here and remember who we’re serving,” she said. ]

Online registration, volunteer information or tickets can be purchased online at http://challengedenver.org/event. Tickets for the event are $50.