Taconic Students Raise Awareness For Anti-Bullying Campaign
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Taconic High School students Kirsten McNeice, Makenzie Astore, Quinton Cookis and Alex Carusotto will be raising awareness about bullying at Monday's basketball game (Jan. 23.) between Taconic and Pittsfield in the home of the Braves.The four students joined the school's Business Professionals of America chapter with the hopes of gaining some insight on what it takes to be successful in the workforce.
Ambition, leadership, and citizenship are all points that are emphasized. The four Braves student-athletes will be putting these life skills into action during half-time of Monday's game for an anti-bullying campaign with Western Massachusetts ties.
In 2009, 11-year-old Carl Walker of Springfield took his own life as a result of severe bullying at school. The story caught the attention of Ty Pennington, host of the popular ABC series "Extreme Home Makeover." Inspired by the Walker family, Pennington assisted Carl's mother in creating www.standtogether.tv, designed to register commitments from people pledging to take a stand against bullying.
With a goal of registering one million people, the website keeps a running tab on the number of pledges and provides people the opportunity to upload a photo of themselves showing their support for the cause. In recent weeks, close to 200,000 individuals have stood up for the cause, including a wide variety of people from the world of entertainment and professional sports.
"With PHS and Taconic playing each other, this will be an opportunity for our entire community to support the cause," said McNeice, a sophomore who is also a member of the girls' basketball team.
McNeice, Astore, Cookis and Carusotto took on the project as a service-learning initiative associated with Taconic's BPA chapter. Business department director Lynn DiSimoni said the students have worked diligently to prepare for Monday's city series boys' basketball game between Pittsfield High and Taconic.
"They plan to be onsite educating attendees about the 'Stand Together' commitment and distributing printed pledge numbers in anticipation of half-time, when all in attendance will be asked to rise from their seats with their pledge numbers in hand as they are filmed recognizing their desire to join the ranks of people who believe in respect for all," said DiSimoni.
Community members interested in being part of the event are encouraged to attend. The game begins at 7:30 p.m.
Tags: bullying, community service, Taconic,
