Bullied Main Line Student Launches Kindness Campaign

After a Main Line middle schooler left her school due to bullying by a boy, she and her family are taking the fight against bullying to the next level by launching an anti-bullying campaign on the Main Line.

Nora Nissenbaum and her mother Sandy formed the new campaign Commit To Kind on the heels of what they say was anti-semitic bullying and an alleged threat to shoot up the Tredyffrin/Easttown Middle School by a boy Nora told she no longer liked.

"We are a growing movement of kids coming together (hopefully nation and even worldwide) to put a stop to the crisis of bullying in our schools and communities by committing to being kind," the Commit To Kind website reads. "We envision a world where all people feel accepted, supported and safe in our communities and schools. Our mission is to activate kids to inspire kids and adults to value each other’s differences and commit to being kind. We will be the change we want to see!"

Commit To Kind is a neophyte in the anti-bullying world but is raising money through a GoFundMe campaign and through T-shirt sales.

So far, the GoFundMe campaign has generated more than $2,100, eclipsing its original $850 goal.

The organization is looking to the future to develop activities designed by kids to help engage and empower people to stop bullying in schools and communities by committing to kindness, the website says.

The Jewish Exponent reports Commit To Kind hopes to host an event called the Commit To Kind Relay, which will task the public with committing acts of kindness. Those will be shared on social media and then used to challenge friends to continue promoting kindness.

It all started when Nora, a sixth grader, told a boy she didn't like him anymore, then he started sending her photos of Adolf Hitler and called her a "dirty Jew,"

Additionally, that boy is reported to have made threats to bring a gun to school with 33 targets in mind.

He later received a five-day suspension, but still ran into Nora in the school's halls, prompting her family to pull her and her siblings from school and finish the 2017-2018 year with a tutor.

The Tredyffrin/Easttown School District has since held parent focus groups to address safety concerns in its schools.

"The information gathered from the focus groups and expert authorities will be used when considering potential policy enhancements to threat response protocols," the district said. "We will share what we learn with the School Board Policy Committee."

You can learn more about Commit To Kind online here.

Image via GoFundMe