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Mom's program presents anti-bullying message to Boardman second-graders
BOARDMAN
Bullying indirectly led to her daughter’s death, says Diane Demetrios.
Now Demetrios, of Boardman, is trying to make sure local kids don’t go through what her daughter, Leslie Marie, went through as a child.
Demetrios started Let’s Make a Difference earlier this year in honor of Leslie, who died last year from a drug overdose at age 31.
“She was bullied as a child, [and] had very low self-esteem,” she said. “She would have made better choices” if she hadn’t been bullied.
“So I want to turn it around,” she said.
On Thursday Demetrios, her daughter-in-law, Lora Demetrios, and staff from Making Kids Count, another local organization, stopped by all four of Boardman’s elementary schools to share an anti-bullying message.
Second-graders at the four schools listened as Lora read aloud “Billy Bully,” a children’s counting book about a character who loses his friends when he is mean to them and then gets them back by doing nice things.
Dozens of second-graders at Robinwood Lane Elementary chimed in enthusiastically with the counting passages of the book and watched attentively as the pages turned.
“Act nice,” “be nice” and “apologize” were some of the answers kids gave when Lora asked what the character could do to win his friends back.
“We are all different, and we all can be friends; and you are all special and unique in your own ways,” Lora told the rapt audience after she finished reading the book to them.
At the end of the program, each child received a copy of the book to take home, totaling more than 350 books provided by Let’s Make a Difference and Making Kids Count.
Don Robinson, principal of Robinwood Lane, said bullying is something he and his staff often talk about with students and said a big thing is teaching students the difference between bullying and simply being bothered by someone.
“It has to be repeated over and over again [to be bullying], and don’t let it get to that point,” he said he tells students.
As for Diane, this was not her first visit to Boardman schools. Her daughter went to Stadium Drive Elementary and then Boardman Center Middle School.
“She went to Boardman schools, so that was a reason we chose Boardman,” Diane said.
Diane also set up a $500 scholarship at the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center, where Leslie went to high school.
Diane said she would like to expand Let’s Make a Difference and plans to add new things each year.
She is raising money by selling candy bars, which can be found at local businesses including E.J. Hannah, Golf Headquarters and Something New Florist.