A Great Partner: Our Fund

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It’s no secret. Money is the lifeblood of any nonprofit. We wish it weren’t so — but it is. Without money, the Humanity Project can’t work with kids, parents and other adults to inspire respect for the equal value of individuals and the unique value of humanity. We can’t provide our acclaimed antibullying program or our innovative Humanity Club. Our Fund understands this — and recently awarded the Humanity Project and 20 other fine nonprofits generous funding to continue our work.

We are deeply grateful to everyone at Our Fund, including the Board of Directors, the Grant Committee, and the great staff that includes Mark Blaylock and Obed Caballero. But we especially must thank Our Fund’s amazing CEO, David Jobin, who is an admired friend among the South Florida LGBTQ community and beyond. David works tirelessly to make this the most livable place in the United States for the LGBTQ population … and thereby, more enjoyable, more diverse and yes more livable for everyone. Our Fund is the third largest LGBTQ foundation in the country and we thank them for this important recent $10,000 in funding for the Humanity Project’s work.

So let us finish up this online acknowledgement and thank you by showing you something we believe you’ll like. This is a new 2-minute video we recently uploaded to the Humanity Project YouTube channel. It shows unscripted honest thoughts about our Humanity Club by a few of the girls who took part in the program at Morrow Elementary School in North Lauderdale, Florida from September 2018 through June 2019. These girls are future leaders who learned through the Humanity Club about the importance of respect for every human being, regardless of who that person loves, how they dress or anything else. They in turn helped their entire school understand these same lessons … and now will take their knowledge with them to spread among their peers in future years. This is how a community achieves equality. It should make you smile. And should make you appreciate the support of Our Fund all the more. That’s certainly our reaction here at the Humanity Project.

Thank you, Our Fund!! Here’s that video: Watch the new Humanity Project YouTube video!

UNICEF Report: School Bullying Is Rampant Worldwide

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Bullying is worse, not better. But there is hope. 

UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, just released a major report on childhood bullying worldwide. It found that about half of children ages 13 to 15 throughout the globe say they have experienced peer-to-peer violence in and around school. That's 150 million kids. As one UNICEF official who contributed to the report said, "Schools are not as safe as they should be because of bullying, because of corporal punishment by teachers, because of attacks on schools." The report adds that the estimated monetary cost of violence against children in all countries is $7 trillion.

However, the same UNICEF official noted that more children are speaking out against bullying and more teachers are being trained to deal with it. "We have reasons to be optimistic that violence will be recognized as a problem in schools and addressed soon," she said. Self-reported peer violence stands at around 50% in most of the nations studied -- with the U.S. rate slightly lower at 48%. The report is based on data from 122 countries, which are home to 51% of the world's population of children ages 13 to 15.

At the Humanity Project, we see this major report as more proof of the need for increased efforts of all kinds to stop school bullying. We have sensed a growing misunderstanding of the issue in the United States in recent months, a feeling that the serious problem of school bullying is less common now than before. Some folks seem to feel we've won that war. In fact, school bullying is more common today, according to U.S.-based studies and anecdotal reports. These include recent discussions by Humanity Project officials with school administrators, teachers and counselors. LGBTQ students are among the most frequent targets, a school population that is disproportionately bullied. The Southern Poverty Law Center says research consistently shows that “virtually every LGBT student experiences bullying at school.”

The Humanity Project's acclaimed Antibullying Through The Arts and Humanity Club programs have been shown to be effective in helping to curb school bullying -- but in the past several months, we have received somewhat less funding than in 2017 to deliver these free programs to schools and organizations that need them. In light of the new UNICEF report, we are hopeful these funds will be restored soon as more people recognize that bullying hasn't ended in the schools. And that our work as a society to stop school bullying is far, far from over. 

"Humanity Project Goes Hollywood!"

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Looking For Our Closeup

The Humanity Project has gone Hollywood ... Well, let's say "Hollywood," as in kinda sorta. The truth is we created a new video that's just like a polished Hollywood-style trailer you'd see at the movies. In a clever way, it advertises the Humanity Project's work and our three core values that are part of every program we offer: respect, diversity, self-worth. Click on the linked pic just below to check it out. 

We've also posted another cool video on our YouTube channel, which you can find here: 

More and more folks are getting lots of their information and entertainment from videos. The trend seems to be accelerating. So the Humanity Project is embracing this new reality by stepping up our game. As you can see on our YouTube channel, or the Videos page here on our website, we've always gone big for videos. They can communicate with new audiences in new ways. But now -- oh definitely, you can expect to find more videos by us in the coming months, smart and engaging pieces that take our positive message to even higher heights. 

An LGBT Adult speaks to LGBT Kids

POSTED BY: BOB KNOTTS

About a week ago, the Humanity Project received a moving email from a 28-year-old man named Jared Kenwood, who lives in South Florida. Mr. Kenwood’s email included these words: “I was 11 years old when I came out as being gay, not only to my parents but to my whole school. From then on depression, isolation, insecurities, and suicide attempts have taken place.” His email continued, “I want to become a public speaker … and share my story, how I overcame adversity and have been able to move on from homophobia, bullying, and all the things that can lead to suicide and gay bashing …”

One of the ways that the Humanity Project helps kids to help kids is by teaching the importance of diversity, self-value and respect for all people. And our www.thp4kids.com website (“The Humanity Project 4 Kids”) was created to be an online friend by teens, for teens who feel isolated and lonely. So we are pleased to share Mr. Kenwood’s email with you — and his video. We hope you’ll watch it and send the link to anyone who may benefit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKLjKB4wjF0