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Help Kids Become Assertive!

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Assertive Kids Foundation Seeks Immediate Funding To Start Non-Profit Support Efforts

Bullying is something everyone's talking about. And, with good cause.  It's a major issue.  But what's being done to stop bullying?

Quite a bit; Google it and find out!

But we offer something new to the mix, gleaned from our own unique perspectives: Teaching kids, from elementary age to college, how to be assertive, not aggressive or passive.


This includes education on preventing self-harm and suicide, a topic of the utmost importance to everyone in the community.  Losing even one more young person is too many!

And, bullying can take on many forms, from workplace bullying and mobbing to schoolyard violence. Assertiveness  skills are useful throughout life, not just during childhod or adolescence.

We seek to empower kids of all ages, helping them to overcome bullying through the greatest means of all: their own assertiveness and self-knowledge. 

Whether this means standing up to a bully in a kind, yet firm manner, or asking for the help of an elder because the bully might seem violent or hot tempered, or hasn't stopped,  after requests to do so,  Assertive Kids know that they need not suffer under anyone's transgression of their boundaries.

Even talking with a parent or teacher takes some assertiveness, and after being bullied, this may be in short supply. But talking is what's needed, so kids can find solutions with an understanding team behind them, not just trying to tackle bullying on their own.  Even with help, it's not easy.

Kids need to know that being bullied does not make them any lesser; in fact, it's the act of bullying, itself, that is an antisocial behavior.  This, itself, builds confidence.

No matter what color our skin, our religious affiliation, or our gender, sexual orientation, personal style, ethnicity, or disability, we all have a right to be treated as people by those around us. 

Assertive Kids Foundation  aims to demonstrate to kids how to make better choices for themselves by not letting bullying, or controlling peers, make those choices for them by default.
Rather than focusing on the negative, we aim to educate and empower children, adolescents, and young adults by detailing other choices available besides passivity and fear, or aggressive anger, hatred, or violence (whether self-violence or violence against others).

We are committed to nonviolence, and help kids seek out solutions to their issues that adhere to the principles of living life as an assertive individual, conscious of  our own rights while also aware of the individual rights of others, even when our own rights are not being respected.

We aim to deliver on this by education and awareness. This includes creative expression, appeals to the intellect, and emotionally connecting with audiences.

Most importantly, we help provide kids with a basic "toolkit" to cope with stress, bullying, and emotional torment.   We will draw on non-sectarian inspirational ideas from all faiths, as well as relaxation  techniques, from stretching to jogging and more, proven by health researchers to be of benefit.

Journaling and dialogoue with others,  as well as other ideas derived from psychology and secular humanism will also factor in heavily.  Existing research on the subject of bullying, social dynamics,  stress, and relaxation will play a significant role.

Some ideas of how we will communicate this vital message include making coloring book comics for the younger set, staging plays at schools including student participation with role-play, scheduling lectures and guests speakers at local colleges and universities, as well as creating a website with areas geared toward kids from children to adolescents to university-age young adults.
Assertive Kids will  also offer a web and app-based peer-support network so kids can message other kids in similar situations for support. This wil be unmoderated, however access will be designated by the following: elementary, middle schoolers, high school kids, and college age people.

Another area would include a way for families of kids who are being bullied to exchange ideas and offer support to one another.  Another section  would be a place for families that actually lost a child to bullying to offer each other support.

We seek to help by publishing pamphlets and literature for kids that helps, quickly and easily, identify how to know when their boundaries are being overstepped, how to know when they are overstepping another's boundaries, as well as the steps kids can take to learn to be assertive in all situations.
This treads into many territories, from the bully who never lets Jake play basketball after school, to the abusive teacher who always criticizes Sarah even when she does her work well, to much more serious issues of interpersonal verbal abuse, emotional, physical abuse, and sexual abuse.

Kids will learn about narcissism and identifying bullying behaviors in themselves and others.  Kids will learn about stalking and personal safety.  Kids will learn about respecting others in all situations. 

Kids will learn to center and calm themselves by controlling their breathing and by other means.  Kids will learn to choose alternatives to violence in every situation.  

Kids will be taught the rudimentary basics of self defense and situational awareness, including an overview of the various forms of martial arts and self defense, and where they can go to seek further education in such disciplines. 

Kids will learn the importance of being aware of their surroundings and to make honest assessments of how others are making them feel inside.  Kids will be taught to trust their intuition, an often undervalued gift.

Boundaries will be an important focus.  Trusting one's feelings is another.  Our foundation aims to go one step further and provide kids with the tools they need to handle any future situation, or even situations they are currently suffering in.

We aim to raise as much as possible to get started.  Our goal is $500,000. We aim to spend whatever we raise extremely carefully, making every dollar accomplish as much as we are able. 



In order to accomplish the task of beginning our mission as a serious non-profit, we require funds to operate, and to establish ourselves as a strong voice within the community of advocates for the rights of bullying victims, as well as other areas where young people would benefit from learning about assertiveness.

We must pay for the web site development and online marketing efforts.  We must pay for development of the content,  research efforts, and costs associated with the hiring of our team.  We must pay for the server. 

We must pay for the app development. We must rent a post office box.  We must pay the staffers.  We must pay for the lecturers’ fees, t-shirts, and other branded items. We need styling and design for the branding and logo.  And more. 

The founders of Assertive Kids have  operated numerous for-profit businesses successfully on limited funds, including a communications business that served the public.  Our customers included schools, hospitals, local businesses, school bus companies, power plants, security companies, ambulances, and more. 

We kept the business going on funds we received from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Rebuilding Fund, after the company's equipment was destroyed at the World Trade Center on 9-11-2001.  Therefore, we know how to operate lean.  And multitask.  As each team member was laid off due to budget cuts, we assumed their jobs and responsibilities.

We are also former educators who had been peer tutors for five years, a music and chorus teacher for elementary age kids, as well as a teacher of remedial level English at City University of New York, experienced in conducting weekly workshops either alone or with a partner, geared to ward the student population, or staff meetings geared to the peer tutors, with a specialization in learning styles and types of intelligence.

We will keep our costs low and operate with the goal of making every dollar accomplish as  much as possible. We've been there.  We will spread our message as quickly as possible across the US, and eventually Canada as well, while keeping Assertive Kids on the forefront of research and learning on the topics of bullying, mental health, sociology, and associated topics.

(C) 201 7 Copyright H. Miller, D Alban o, Assertive Kids Foundation

Organiser

Heather M
Organiser
Brooklyn, NY

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