All that and a group of Buddies!!!

Not to speak for Tom, cause I am sure he has a million and one thoughts himself, but I think it is safe to say, we are so absolutely thrilled. 

During the event, as we watched everyone participating, me fighting back tears of joy, and Tom smiling bigger than i've ever seen while slightly misty eyed himself, lol, Tom and I talked about our nights before "Buddy Up".  As I put together the last of the registrations and checked my "to-do" list for the millionth time, Tom was getting himself together at his house.  Maybe at the same time, maybe just through cosmic forces, or just simple angst over the hard work we know we put in this, we both had a moment of "Omgoodness what if no one shows?!".  Even though I was looking at over 100 registration forms and knew that we'd have more walk-ups, I still just had a classic Sagittarian moment of self-doubt.  I pushed it aside as best I could and managed to crawl into bed around 2:30am and got about 2 1/2 hours of sleep, thinking we've done all we can do, and whatever you do Kat, just don't cry for goodness sake. Lol.

Having been a Police Officer for a while now, I know that there is something about a line of traffic cones that attracts mischievousness.  At 6:00am, I turned the corner on the roadway on the way into the school and saw just how much mischief was afoot the night before.  Really?! Cones were scattered and knocked down from the track all the way to our outdoor lower field.  Yes, really.  I put it in park, and the kid and I commenced to putting them back in place. *smh*  Lol.

They didn't look like this the night before.  Ugh.  :|

Cones back in their proper place and the course ready for buddies, it was time to cross off the last of the "to-do" list.  I can tell you, when I am at work, or when i'm waiting in line somewhere, or even when i'm working out and begging for time to go quickly, two hours never flies as quickly as it did during the time we were doing the last bit of set up.  To everyone who stepped up during that time, patient with me snapping - so very sorry :( - I can't tell you how much we value your efforts.  And then... before I knew it... we were starting the event.  Holy smokes Batman, it was time! Eek!  So we did what we do... and we started.  :)

Yeah Buddy!

Yes people, we held our very first "Buddy Up Against Bullying: A Run for Hope, 5K & Virtual 5K" today at Reedy Creek Middle School in Cary, NC!  We did it!  We absolutely did it!  We ALL certainly "buddy up" did it!  

And...

we are going to do it again too!  :)

- Mucho hugs and thanks, Officer Christian.   ♥

Virtual 5K Underway!

Yesterday a group of 25 elementary school girls ranging in age fom 8 to 13 years old, donned their Buddy Up Against Bullying bibs and each ran about 1.5 miles.  Now while they may not have run a full 5K, I like to look at their run as the official start of the Buddy Up Against Bullying Virtual 5K.  Way to go girls!

If you haven't downloaded your bib yet, simply click HERE to do so.  

Tomorrow is the big day!  Gather your buddies and go for a run!  Have fun, and thank you for supporting Buddy Up Against Bullying.

TC

"Buddy-abu-lous!"

Take a look of a vid that one of our biggest parent supporters and her son made for us to help promote our event on Saturday!  Thank you so much! 

More Thanks

Not that we like to toot our own horn...but...HONK, HONK!!

I am so excited to see that Buddy Up Against Bullying is getting support from all over the globe.  When we launched the blog and had 30 hits in two days, I was so Thrilled.  Now here we are...a few thousand hits and eleven countries later!  And oh by the way...the run is this Saturday!

Thank you to all of our sponsors for "Buddying Up" with us, as well as all of our individual Buddies for supporting our cause, and stepping in to lend a hand to a couple of folks that really had no clue what was about to happen when they said, "We should host a 5K!"

Kat and I want to wish you a good run on Saturday wherever you may be, and whoever you may be running with.  Be safe, have fun, and thank you for your support!

TC

Anticipation...

I can't tell you how surreal it is to be here less than a week away to "Buddy Up".  This has been kind of like waiting for Christmas - waiting, waiting, waiting, and all of a sudden, it's here. :)

I am so proud of all the work Tom and I have put into this movement.  We've picked up supporters along the way, some silent, some who have really jumped in with two feet, some bringing coffee and croissants to keep me going and then making calls to get things moving.  (Thank you Robin!)  And now we are here... less than a week to go.  *smh*

So with less than a week to go, this is where we really need your help and support.  We've got event day covered, now we just need you to keep spreading the word about such an important issue.  Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and of course, check on our blog. 

More than anything, we'd love to see you all on our campus or out doing your activities wearing our race bib.  Send us the photos and we'll get them posted up.  Come on buddies!!!

Bullying and Absenteeism

As the time draws near for our run, I find myself continually blown away by the outpouring of support in the community, and really from around the globe.  To know that we have folks following our blog from almost every continent on earth (c'mon South America!!!) is just mind boggling to me. 

It also speaks volumes about how everyone around the globe sees bullying as a problem.  A problem that is not limited to one region of the world...or economic class...or race...or sex...or ethnic group...or religion.  Bullying is truly a global issue.  

Here in the United States, an estimated 160,000 children miss school every day out of fear of being bullied (source: bullyingstatistics.org).  EVERY day!  That's 800,000 bullying related absences a week across the nation.  Over a 180-day school year,  that's 28.8 MILLION bullying related absences! 

To put that into a different perspective, here at Reedy Creek Middle School (where Kat and I work), we have just under 1,000 students.  Imagine for just a moment, 160 schools the size of RCMS sitting absolutely empty every single day...all out of students' fear of being bullied.

No child should be made to feel like their only option is to skip school because they are afraid of being bullied.  Bullying is not a rite of passage, and it is not just a part of growing up.  This is an issue we can do something about.  Granted, we will not rid our schools of bullying overnight, but through events like the Buddy Up Against Bullying 5K & Virtual 5K, and other events around the country aimed at bringing awareness to the issue, we will make progress, change lives, and eventually wipe out bullying once and for all.

Thank you for your support...and please continue to spread the word about Buddy Up.

TC

The Updates!

So the support never stops... this week, Jerzees Activewear donated 300 pairs of socks to our event and Pepsi Bottling Ventures donated water to our event.  Absolutely fabulous! 

Also this week, we rolled out a new initiative to continue to educate the students.  Working with the school counselors, we started in the 6th grade and are continuing our way up to the 7th and 8th grade.  It has been really pretty awesome thus far.  Take a look at the new "Heartfelt Buddies" page we added to the blog to learn more about it.

Registration is open for the on campus 5K and of course, the Virtual 5K is also on-going.  Please, please, please, come join us, and continue to spread the word!

- KC

The Countdown...

WowOhWow. Three weeks... 3... weeks. Unbelievable. I remember 3 months ago when Tom and I sat and talked, brainstormed about all of this. We've done so much, but I still feel like there is still so much to go.

The support we have had from our school community, people at my agency, our family, and friends, has been tremendous. Every time I see a new “Like”, or see “Buddy Up” referenced somewhere on someone’s page, I’m often struck silent for a minute as I take in just how significant this issue is to so many people. It’s a good reminder to me, regardless of the end product, of whatever issues come up on event day, the WHY we are doing this is the most important thing.

Yep, three weeks to go… 3 weeks.

- KC

P.S.  Don't forget to join us with the virtual 5K. 

Words of Wisdom

This morning as I surfed the web, I stumbled upon the following quote from Archbishop Desmond Tutu:

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”

At school I find myself sounding a bit like a broken record as I repeatedly urge students to take a stand for what is right, and report any wrongdoing to an adult. Sadly, these words often seem to fall on deaf ears.

It sometimes takes a great deal of courage to take a stand for what is right. However, when one brave soul commits to taking that stand, they will quickly find they do not stand alone.

Thank you for taking a stand against bullying with us. Keep spreading the word.

TC

We're jammin', we're jammin', we're jammin'...

Bob Marley said it best..."We're jammin'!"... on race day thanks to the sounds of ProForm DJs!  Not only will they keep us entertained as we move, and now groove, our way around campus, ProForm DJs is part owned by one of the teachers at Reedy Creek.  Everyone is getting involved in the "buddy up" movement and that is also very groooovy!

 

https://www.facebook.com/ProformDJs

http://www.proformdjs.com

"Go, girl! Go!" - Ms. Ida, 97 year old track star.

As I was winding down for the evening, watching television, I caught a story that about moved me tears, as I was so inspired.  After suffering the death of two children within three years of each other, Ms. Ida fell into a depression.  Trying to find a way to help her mother heal, her track coach daughter entered her mother into a 5K event.  So Ms. Ida's running career was born.  She was in her sixties when she started and never looked back.

At 97 years old, Ms. Ida was hoping to run 100 meters in less than 59.9 seconds and break a record.  She worked together, buddied up, with her 60 year old daughter, and they made it happen.  Ms. Ida ran it in 51 seconds.  Absolutely phenomenal.

I know as we run on March 16th, we will share the same pride and excitement as Ms. Ida and her daughter did that day.  While we are not trying to break any records, we're running in hope of making a change. Both are pretty awesome if you ask me.

Keep spreading the word and until next time...

- KC

*happy dance* Sunkist oranges for race day!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!  One of our fabulous parents has worked with a rep from Sunkist Oranges and was able to get us oranges for race day.  Support like this and volunteering your time on March 16th, makes all the difference for us.  We really appreciate it.  :)

Keep on spreading the word and downloading the bib.
 
Until next time...

 - KC

Oh yeah... "orange" you glad I didn't make a silly orange joke?!    :|  

Ha! Lol!

RCMS Run Club Officially Underway

This afternoon we had our first RCMS Run Club meeting...and it was awesome.  We had 23 students, staff, and parents come out to join us for a few laps and a lot of laughs.  Hopefully our little club will continue to grow in popularity.

I want to share with you a true story about one of our run club members.  Since this member is a minor, I'll call this person "KT" to protect their identity.

KT is a student at RCMS who unfortunately got into a little trouble today and as a result had to spend some quality time in front of me (the AP).  See, KT decided to make a rather hurtful remark about another person in our school today, and really hurt that person's feelings.  Offenses of this nature just don't sit well with me, so we had our little chat.

During the course of our conversation, KT told me that they had signed up for the running club, and I told KT that while I'm glad they signed up, I am even more disappointed about their actions, as this can be construed as a form of bullying...something our running club is very much against (obviously).

When I saw KT later at run club, KT told me "I really didn't want to be here today."  I asked "Why not?" and KT responded, "I'm a little tired and I really just didn't feel like running.  But as I thought about what I did earlier today, I just felt like I should be here."

I couldn't help but smile and give KT a little fist bump. 

TC

Attention dailymile Members

For those of you who are dailymile members, I want to invite you to join the Buddy Up Against Bullying Virtual 5K challenge.

If you are unfamiliar with dailymile, it is a social media site where runners, walkers, cyclists, and swimmers can log information about their workouts.  As a part of the site, you can create or join "challenges" as well.  In setting up the Buddy Up challenge on dailymile, I really just wanted to give folks a place to post their times...and it is another way of spreading the word.

Thank you one and all for your continued support...and keep spreading the word.

TC

Do You Like A Good Flash Mob?

On January 20, hundreds of kids from 17 different schools in Vancouver British Columbia got together and pulled off this really cool flash mob at a hockey game.  The best part is this was a way to spread their message of acceptance.

The final credit reads:

Acceptance

Spread the Word

Help Stop Bullying

Support Pink Shirt Day

February 27, 2013

We're on the same team here with these kids, and I encourage all of our "Buddies" out there to support Pink Shirt Day on February 27.  Now...check out their video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT4qzVWGU8w

You too can have a "Buddy Up 5K"!

Here we are with just about 7 weeks to go.  Wowsers!  It will be here before we know it.  :)

I wanted to talk about a post on our Facebook page.  One of our "buddies" commented they wished they had something like our run where they are in the Virgin Islands.  (Actually, we get quite a few comments like this when people hear about "Buddy Up".)  First of all, how wild would it be to have worldwide "Buddy Up 5Ks" everywhere?!  In our planning, we are talking about doing something bigger next year (*fingers crossed*), but to go worldwide, would be just unbelievable and would have taken our movement to a whole other level.  Just... amazing.  :)

Like it says on our  "About Buddy Up" blog page, this really just started with a conversation.  In the most simplistic way of defining it, it was two people who came together and decided to make it happen.  We were both talking about bullying, both sharing our interests in running, and from there, it really was just details.  We got the respective support of the school Administration and the Chief of Police, and we were off. 

The thing is, "Buddy Up" doesn't have to be a 5K.  It could be a jump rope event, a silly dress up day, or even a get together to beautify the school day, whatever you can to bring people together.  The most important thing is having the kids take some ownership outside of the classroom.  They have to feel they are not alone and empowered to speak up.  Doing an event together, with a buddy or buddies, does just that and continues to spread awareness against bullying. 

We haven't had our event yet, and are still working through it, but we are more than happy to share what we've learned thus far.  Hmm... maybe when this is all done, we'll post a pic of our "planning wall" and add a  "Step by Step - The TomKat Way of Planning a 5K" page to the blog.  That will be interesting to see. Lol.  :)

Until next time...
Keep downloading!  -->  Buddy Up 5K Race Bib



- KC

Buddy Up Against Bullying Movement Is Spreading

It's been just about 5 full days now since we launched our blog page, and in that time we've had just over 500 views.  Not too shabby!

The part that amazes us the most though is the fact that we are getting views from folks from not only right here in the United States, but also in Canada, Germany, Italy, and Australia as well.  Again...not too shabby.

I hope that as we gain more followers from around the globe, we are also getting downloads of our bib.

Speaking of our bib...if you are a supporter of Buddy Up and just cannot wait for March 16 to get here, feel free to go ahead and download the bib and pin it on for an upcoming race!  No harm in getting the word out early!

Thank you one and all for your continued support.

TC

Buddy Up Blog Gets Some Love

Special thanks to Beth from Shut Up & Run for giving Buddy Up a shout out on her blog today.  

Her virtual run in February of 2012 was the inspiration for the Buddy Up Against Bullying Virtual 5K.  We appreciate not only her inspiration, but also the support she has shown us since day one.

Humbled & Thrilled

I really cannot find the words right now to adequately express my gratitude for the support being given to our cause.  Almost everyone I've spoken to has responded with, "What can I do to help?"  From friends I've known my entire life, to folks I've just met in the last 24 hours.  The outpouring of love over what we are doing is almost overwhelming. 

Your support means so much to not only to me and Officer Christian...but to the students of RCMS, and far beyond our campus to the students of our nation.  I am so excited to know how many (give or take a few thousand) participate in the Virtual 5K.  Keep spreading the word for us.

Thank you just doesn't seem like enough.  But thank you.

TC

Holy Running Shoes Batman!

I cannot believe I'm saying this, but I just invited The First Lady to join us on March 16.  While we'd love to host her on our campus, I can see where that might create an unanticipated traffic situation.  Perhaps she'll at least take part in the Virtual 5K.  Stay tuned!

Buddy Up on Social Media

Like us on Facebook: Buddy Up Facebook Page

OR

Follow us on Twitter: @BuddyUp5K

Welcome To Our Blog

Hello there!  My name is Tom Campbell, Assistant Principal at Reedy Creek Middle School in Cary, North Carolina.  On behalf of myself and Officer Katherine Christian (our School Resource Officer) I want to welcome you to the Buddy Up Against Bullying blog.  Additionally, I want to say thank you for supporting our efforts to keep the conversation about bullying on the front burner.

While you're here, please take a look around to learn the backstory of how Buddy Up got started, as well as what you can do help.