When your child is bullied to the point of taking their own life, it puts a different perspective on the steps one might take to bring awareness.
Desiree Cornet-Wile lives that experience. The founder of Mothers Against Bullying in Lloydminster shares how personal her why is.
“My son was bullied to death. I just feel that it’s something that gets pushed under the rug. Life gets busy it’s nobody’s fault. Back when I was young, we would just settle it on the playground. Nowadays kids use words and then they delete it and they don’t realize and they don’t see what comes of those words.”
Wile says she cannot hold anyone responsible for what happened to her son as all the online comments were deleted.
She wants to tell kids to be a buddy and not a bully and to empower them to either stick up for themselves or anybody else that they feel might be having a hard time doing that for themselves. She feels though that once bullying gets to schools it’s too late. She wants the awareness to begin at home.
Wile deals with the issue of bullying as it relates to gender and race.
“With gender and race and equality, everybody is just trying to find their way in this world. Everybody is going to make mistakes. That’s just human nature. Our kids have to stop focusing on what everybody else is doing because they’re the ones that are going to make this world better.”
Down the road, Wile says she is looking to connect with more mothers across the provinces, on both sides of the border, to create a support network for children being bullied.
In an effort to raise awareness of their cause, MAB is hosting a steak & chicken fundraiser at the Lloydminster Golf & Curling Club catered by Harvest to Home from June 3-4. The proceeds will go towards greater awareness activities for kids at local schools.
Pitch-in for the cause by calling 780-875-6996. Tickets can also be purchased at Dark Hour Ink at 780-875-1884.