Vermont Business Magazine October is National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, and an amazing duo of superheroes without capes, including a St. Albans resident, will be in Montpelier to show students and educators how they can spread HOPE (Hold On, Possibilities Exist) in their classrooms — and beyond.
Tom Murphy and Rick Yarosh, of Sweethearts & Heroes, will work at U-32 Middle & High School on Thursday, Oct. 12 and Friday, Oct. 13.
Sweethearts & Heroes is a student empowerment and empathy activation team that aims to prevent bullying and suicide with a focus on the basic components of social-emotional learning (SEL).
Sweethearts & Heroes offers a profound, engaging signature presentation that calls for HOPE, Empathy and Action; Circle, which is built on the ancient ritual of communicating in a circle to build empathy; and BRAVES Buddies, which trains older students in bully drills that they, in turn, teach to students in lower grades.
The Sweethearts & Heroes team is: Tom Murphy, Director and Founder, of St. Albans, Vt.; Ret. U.S. Army Sgt. Rick Yarosh, a HOPE expert and motivational speaker from New York who was burned severely while serving in Iraq; and Pat Fish, BRAVES and Circle Leader. (For more on Circle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q286yIL9L1E)
While at U-32, Murphy and Yarosh will work according to these tentative schedules:
Oct. 12
Middle School Assemblies
Lunch with Students
Middle School Classroom visits
Small group sessions with Middle School students
Q&A with faculty and staff
Oct. 13
High School Assemblies
Lunch with Students
High School Classroom visits
Small group sessions with High School students
Cody Chevrolet-Cadillac is sponsoring Sweethearts & Heroes’ school events at U-32. The North Country Chevy Dealers is a strong and supportive partner of Sweethearts & Heroes.
Murphy said, “We’re heading to East Montpelier to cultivate compassion and empathy. We aim to stop students from making destructive decisions and help them treat each other with kindness. We also make our messages sustainable in schools, so that they have an eventual and sustainable effect on the local community. The spider web effect is powerful and incredible, and there is HOPE for everyone.”
To ensure this sustainability, Sweethearts & Heroes created The HOPE Classroom, a digital subscription service designed for various grade levels and different school sizes. This value-packed offering can allow Sweethearts & Heroes to be in every school in the U.S. For more information visit: https://thehopeclassroom.com/.
Sweethearts & Heroes has been to U-32 in recent years. Amy Molina, U-32 Assistant Principal, is eager to see Murphy and Yarosh again. She said, “We are excited to welcome Tom and Rick back to U-32 after a hiatus of a few years. Their previous visits left a lasting impression on our students and staff, and we look forward to hearing their powerful messages again.”
For more than 16 years, Sweethearts & Heroes has presented what Murphy calls “‘the ‘stop, drop and roll’ of bullying” to more than 2.5 million students in school districts from New England to Hawaii and north into Canada. Sweethearts & Heroes also tailors its presentations and workshops for businesses, non-profits and civic groups. Murphy said, “We go where we’re needed. That’s what heroes do.”
In 2021, Sweethearts & Heroes released 13 Pillows For Affective Teachers, a novel that covers the themes of HOPE, Empathy and Action in the Sweethearts & Heroes curriculum. 13 Pillows is based on real students and teachers that Sweethearts & Heroes has encountered. Murphy cowrote the book with Brian McKeon, of New York. 13 Pillows is available on Amazon. Digital or printed copies are available upon request. The audiobook is on Audible. (On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/13Pillows)
For more information on Sweethearts & Heroes, visit: sweetheartsandheroes.com.
Or watch these short, impactful trailers:
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sweetheartsandheroes/
On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChmbRNNgpGWkMRIUxSS-bGg
Source: 10.2.2023. Sweethearts & Heroes EAST MONTPELIER, Vt.
