John,

When I talk with parents and educators around the country who've experienced our Start With Hello program, I'm always so encouraged to hear it's made such a huge impact on how students feel at school. The activities are not only helping to reduce bullying and bring kids together – they're helping save lives.

Start With Hello Week, from Sept. 23 to 27, is a nationwide call to action for students to reach out to peers who may feel isolated or ignored. Together, we can help prevent violence before it happens – at no cost to your school district. Now more than ever, it's critical to have as many schools as possible participating.

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I'm especially inspired by the array of Start With Hello activities we saw last year in Bloomfield, NJ. Nine elementary, middle and high schools organized a range of activities including daily greeters, compliment drives, walls of kindness, individual lessons in classrooms about how to Start With Hello and end social isolation, and student pledges declaring that no one would eat or play alone. These school activities created a ripple effect that spread throughout the community through parents, local businesses, media and elected officials. As a result, Bloomfield is becoming an increasingly connected community through its year-round efforts to Start With Hello.

This program is a very effective and simple way to reduce bullying and social isolation in your own community, and we provide all the materials that schools need. John, if you work with a school or youth organization, especially now with back-to-school season in full swing, I hope you'll sign up right away:

Please click here to bring Start With Hello Week to your school or youth organization this month and empower students to save lives through compassion and inclusion.

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Thank you for helping build a safer, more inclusive world for children.

Nicole Hockley (Dylan's mom)

P.S. If you're a parent, grandparent or community member, click here for a templated letter you can customize and send to encourage your local school or youth organization to participate in Start With Hello Week. It's an important way you can help young people in your community who may be at risk of hurting themselves or others.

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