https://okotoksonline.com/articles/bikers-reach-out-to-bullied-kids
Bikers can look pretty intimidating at times.
But the group, Bikers Are Buddies is out to help young people who are suffering through bullying.
James Manley says it got started with a simple phone call.
“Our founder, Jay Sullivan started this group after his son, who is autistic, was picked on at school. He tried to venture out to other groups to try and assist in this and he found there just wasn’t anybody, and the groups that were doing it weren’t doing it in a manner that was actually helping anybody,” Manley says.
So, I was in Vancouver on business and Jay made a call to me and he pitched it to me, and he said ‘hey, do you want to be my national VP?’ and I said, ‘hands down’, this is something that affects kids, I’ve had friends whose kids were bullied so bad they actually took their own lives. It was dear to both our hearts.”
Ray Staples says it’s important to talk to kids when they’re young.
“We’ve created a Be A Buddy, Not A Bully program, where will come out to the schools or any youth groups and we give a presentation of what is bullying, what to do if you are bullied, what to do if you see bullying because we believe that everybody can help out, we have games and activities for the kids to show them the effect that bullying can have on people,” Staples says.
He says everyone involved is a volunteer and the work is done with the help of sponsors and donations so there’s no charge for their presentation.