Buddies Not Bullies

🎉 Help Us Raise $5,000 to Celebrate 20 Years of Impact.  🎉

This Give STL Day, Buddies Not Bullies is inviting 250 donors to give $20 each in support of children’s mental health and bullying prevention.

Funds raised will help us build a digital educator platform — complete with modeled lessons, downloadable materials, and classroom tools — to bring our curriculum to even more schools.

💡 What We Do

Buddies Not Bullies equips educators, schools, and families with tools that prevent bullying, support emotional wellness, and build healthy relationships.

Our evidence-based programming is grounded in child development, trauma-informed practices, and real classroom experience. We meet students where they are — with creativity, clarity, and compassion. 

🧩 All In

Our flagship program, All In is delivered in classrooms over 20 sessions across the school year. Lessons integrate skill-building, self-awareness, emotional regulation, conflict resolution, and peer interaction. By spreading learning over time, we increase retention and build true culture change in schools.

✏️ All In Extensions

Shorter, focused versions of All In are delivered in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th grade classrooms. Primary students are introduced to social-emotional skill sets like communication, cooperation, and personal space. The 5th grade course refreshes what was learned in 4th grade, reinforcing healthy relationship skills before middle school.

🌐 Play It Safe

A classroom-based curriculum that helps middle school students navigate digital spaces with safety and awareness. Students learn about cyberbullying, harassment, privacy, and the risks of online interactions — all while practicing respectful digital communication (“netiquette”) and boundaries.

🎉 YOU-Nique Day Camp

This joyful 2-day day camp brings K–5 students together for games and activities designed to build leadership, inclusion, and connection — all facilitated by local teens who model positive peer relationships. Campers don’t just learn skills — they live them through play.

🧑‍🏫 Parent Seminars

We offer free, self-paced video seminars for parents and caregivers that can be watched in 5–10 minute segments. Topics include bullying prevention strategies, communication tips, and how to support your child’s social development — all designed to fit into busy lives.

🍎 Teacher Training

Educators are on the front lines. We provide professional development sessions on topics like "Teachers as First Responders," "Understanding the Wired Child," and "Creating Emotionally Safe Classrooms." These trainings help schools reinforce the prevention lessons students are learning and create supportive learning environments.

All of our programs were developed by a licensed psychologist with over 25 years of experience working with children and families. They reflect best practices and are designed to adapt across diverse school communities.

We don’t place full-time staff in schools. 

We equip schools, educators, and families to create change together.

🧠 Why It Matters

Children need emotional safety to thrive — and social-emotional skills must be taught just like math and reading.

Our programming was built in response to the increasing number of students experiencing peer mistreatment and emotional overwhelm. Whether it's a bullying prevention lesson, summer camp activity, or school-based counseling support, our goal is simple: stronger kids and safer schools.

💚 Join the Movement 💚

$20 x 250 Donors = $5,000 for Prevention and Mental Health Support.  

Help us launch the next 20 years with strength and heart. 

Every gift makes a difference.

👉 https://www.givestlday.org/donate/buddiesnotbullies