Rick Yarosh, a 2000 Windsor High School graduate, survived an IED explosion in Iraq in 2006 as a member of the U.S. Army. When he and his service dog Amos speak to groups like the students at Windsor Middle School, audience members are usually riveted.
However Yarosh returned to his old school to do more than just share his story of service and recovery. He also admitted growing up he was a bystander when it came to bullying. His mission now is to make sure no one else makes that mistake.
“I might get in trouble for saying this but there’s not a bullying problem in America. There’s a lack of sweethearts and heroes,” said Yarosh.
Yarosh is part of the anti-bullying group Sweethearts and Heroes. According to the organization 170,000 children skip school every day because they are scared. 100,000 leave school and never come back because of how they are treated by other students.
Yarosh has an action plan for bullying bystanders, and it’s as simple as ABC. A – get the target of bullying away from the situation. B – become a buddy of the target in front of everyone else. C – confront the situation or call for help from a teacher or friend.
“We’ve been in front of 1,000,000 kids. I wouldn’t be doing this if we weren’t getting the response that we’ve been getting,” said Yarosh.
That response includes messages from children who feel their situations are hopeless. As someone who battled back from the direst of circumstances Yarosh says there is H.O.P.E. - Hold On Possibilities Exist.
“I get stories from kids who have saved other kids,” said Yarosh.
Palmer Middle School Associate Principal Toby Youngs felt his former classmate was the perfect person to deliver that message.
“I want to show students no matter what adversity they face there is always hope. Rick is here to share that message,” said Youngs.
