Virtual UpStander Month
The Davis Phoenix Coalition (DPC) would like to welcome parents and students back to schools this fall! Remote learning means that families are home day after day, and we want to reach out about opportunities for learning and connecting with our organization.
October is officially National Bully Prevention month. Every October, DPC puts on the Upstander Carnival. This event for elementary-aged children aims to teach them to identify bullying and help them be UpStanders, rather than bystanders, when they see it happen. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we can’t hold this event in-person this year, but we will have several activities and resources that can be accessed safely during the month of October. Stay tuned for these opportunities! We will post about the UpStander celebration on our (social media) Facebook and Instagram pages and on our website, davisphoenixco.org
Although the majority of bullying happens on school campuses, it is important to continue conversations about acceptance, equity and kindness, during this time of remote learning. Especially during these socially distanced times, connections are important and cyberbullying is still an ever-present problem. Our community can still be inclusive, even while social distancing!
Some of the events planned include a reflective greenbelt walk on prosocial actions, kindness challenge Wednesdays, weekly watch parties, an anti-bullying poster contest with winners posted in the Enterprise and a grand finale Zoom dance party. Yay!!!
How can you participate? Follow us on Facebook: Davis Phoenix Coalition or on our website: davisphoenixco.org for updates on activities and instructions on how to enter and win our prizes. Stop by the South end of the Farmers Market on Saturdays in October to pick up one of our posters to show your support of being an UpStander, to see the calendar of events and to drop off your child’s Anti-bully poster for the contest.
For our LGBTQ+ families, we continue to hold meetings over videoconference, allowing people to connect and share space while safeguarding community health. Our Yolo Rainbow Families parent group—open to LGBTQ+ parents and parents of LGBTQ+ kids—meets once a month. Our LGBTQ+ Teen Group is open to all junior-high and high school-aged kids and meets twice a month. If you or your teen are interested in joining, please contact our coordinator, Anoosh Jorjorian, at anoosh@ucla.edu.
To show our appreciation for all the years of support our local small businesses have shown to us, this year we are supporting them by purchasing gift certificates for our popular raffle prizes. We welcome your donations to this effort.
This 2020 UpStander Celebration month is dedicated to the memory of Eva Dopico, our beloved member who was a champion of creating safe, accepting spaces for children and all people.