Miss Greater Little Rock Jada Simpson creates non-profit to combat bullying in schools
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Bullying is an ongoing issue in our schools that needs to come to an end, and one young lady, who you may have seen under the big lights, has started a non-profit to help put an end to it.
Miss Greater Little Rock Jada Simpson’s non-profit Heros Against Bullying is to help raise funds for other organizations that foster her hero mindset.
“Being helpful, encouraging, respectful and open to others.”
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On April 20, Simpson will be hosting her first Heros Against Bullying Gala at the Space with Grace event center located at 8316 West Markham in Little Rock.
Simpson has such a passion for putting a stop to bullying because when she was in the 5th grade she was also bullied.
Now, she’s 20 years old but says the hurt lasts forever and that’s what she wants young people to understand.
According to the CDC, about 1 in 5 high school students reported being bullied at school and more than 1 in 6 high school students reported being bullied electronically in the last year.
Speaking to students at Mills University Studies High School, Simpson asked “What is bullying?”
It’s a question she wants young people to think about.
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Hearing negative statistics created by bullying, Simpson says “When I realized I needed a community service initiating, I instantly knew I wanted to do bullying.”
Simpson is a student at the University of Central Arkansas and interning to be an elementary educator at Morrilton Intermediate School.
“A lot of my day consist of ‘Was that necessary, did we need to say that, could we have said that a better way?'” Simpson said. “And so, when I see them really understand it…when it soaks in for them, it soaks in for me and I says, okay what I am doing is working.”
She says the younger this lesson can be instilled, the better.
“Think about how you feel afterwards,” Simpson said “Do you feel better about yourself? Do you feel fulfilled after you do that act or after you say that mean thing? And often times the answer is no.”
Being a voice to help others is her passion. Not just victims of bullying, but also those who do the bullying to let them know they can change.
“A lot of time people who are bullies think they are a bad person and I love to tell them you are not a bad person you just made a bad decision,” Simpson said.
Simpson says the best question to ask yourself is would I like that.
“Just think about yourself. Put yourself in the shoes of the person who was bullied,” Simpson said. “That is what I did when I stood up for the bully in middle school.”
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Tickets for the Heros Against Bullying Gala can be purchased by visiting EventBrite.com.
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