Anti-Bullying Book, Written By 9-Year-Old, Distributed To Schools

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — Voya Financial Inc., a leading provider of retirement plans for educators, is taking a stand against bullying by distributing 9-year-old Lily Allison’s book, "BE KIND, Silly: A Child’s Quest for a Kinder World," to Pinellas County schools.

The company announced its collaboration with Lily as part of Voya’s World Kindness Campaign in November. To help spread the message of kindness and anti-bullying, Voya is matching Lily’s book purchases and distributing 1,000 copies of her book to schools across the United States.

“Lily was bullied because of the braces she sometimes wears as a result of having Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a disease that weakens the connective tissues in her body,” said Makayla Allison, Lily’s mother of Loveland, Colorado.

Allison leads Some1LikeYou, an organization whose mission is to connect people with health conditions while promoting the mantra to be kind. “Lily has chosen to teach others to spread kindness as a result of being bullied in the hopes that others never have to experience the way that she felt," Allison said. "The power to change the world lives inside each one of us if we just believe.”

Voya has a commitment to make a positive difference in the lives of people with special needs and disabilities — as well as their families, caregivers and other providers — through its Voya Cares program.

“Lily’s messages of kindness and anti-bullying are very much aligned with Voya’s commitment to inclusion for everyone,” said Rodney O. Martin Jr., chairman and CEO of Voya Financial. “It’s the right thing to do — and it's core to who we are."

Voya was introduced to Lily when she participated in Voya’s Invest in Something Special social media campaign in 2017, which encouraged Special Olympics athletes to share their aspirations beyond sport.

The Menace Of Bullies: A Patch Series

Bullying is a confounding national crisis that many consider nothing short of murder. Children are killing themselves to avoid vicious harassment, much of it online. In a nationwide series of reports now in its third year, Patch journalists tell stories of bullying and torment across the United States, and what schools and parents are doing to protect children and end this scourge.

Have a tip or a story to share? Email bullies@patch.com

As part of Voya Financial’s commemoration of World Kindness Day in 2020, it released results of a new, post-election study that found the majority of Americans feel kindness is the most important personal value an individual should exhibit — with almost eight in 10 of those polled (78 percent) ranking kindness as the highest in a list of personal values.

The Voya study also found that, in addition to being kind, 96 percent of those polled would like to see more kindness in the future. And nearly all Americans (97 percent) agree acts of kindness can help make the world a better place.

Among the study’s key findings is how important people feel about kindness as a core operating principle for companies. Specifically, 93 percent of those polled said they want to work for a company that supports spreading kindness. That same level of importance is stressed in financial services, as 93 percent of respondents felt companies in the industry should take a stand on treating all Americans with respect and kindness.

In addition to the study, Voya collaborated with Lily to share a message about kindness in the world on a Youtube video and encourage people to take a pledge to be kind.

Learn more about Voya’s collaboration with Lily and its World Kindness Campaign.

Copies of Lily's book are available here.