By Krystle J Bailey
Andrea and Dominic Pugliese of Egg Harbor Township are the creators of two local nonprofit organizations. Last year, we featured Built with Love, an organization that was created over 12 years ago to bring love and comfort to children in hospitals through stuffed animals. Just two years ago, the Puglieses founded a second organization when they were deeply moved by the loss of a young boy named Drayke from Utah.
Bags Against Bullies, a 501(c)(3), exists to support schools in spreading kindness among students and bringing awareness and understanding of the impacts of bullying through empathy education. Over the last two weeks, several Egg Harbor Township schools participated in Two Weeks of Kindness, an initiative introduced by the Puglieses.
Drayke Hardman, a 12-year-old boy from Utah who faced relentless bullying, made the devastating decision to take his own life two years ago, which led his grieving mother to share his story on Facebook. When the post went viral, and the Puglieses got wind of the tragic loss, they felt compelled to give back to the Hardman family.
After a four-hour-long conversation with Drayke’s mother, they agreed that rather than supporting the family through monetary donations, they would begin a program to spread awareness about the effects of bullying and provide resources to help encourage empathy in classrooms.
Each year, more than 3.2 million students report being bullied, with an estimated 160,000 students reported as missing school due to fear of being bullied. It is no secret that bullying can have long-lasting effects on a child, and yet, with the rise of social media, bullying continues to be an ongoing phenomenon both in and out of the classroom. Empathy and emotional education aim to show students how caring for someone makes it hard to intentionally hurt them.
In its first year, the Two Weeks of Kindness initiative began at Swift and Slaybaugh schools in Egg Harbor Township. This month, Davenport and Miller Elementary schools also participated in the incentive-based kindness program. During the two weeks, students were encouraged to earn purple tickets for doing something above and beyond that exhibits kindness. The tickets earned students prizes, including bookbags, drawstring bags, and wristbands.
Bags Against Bullies also partners with Children Mending Hearts, a nonprofit organization out of California that offers empathy education programming for educators. This year, 30 local classrooms are implementing the program. The 20- to 30-minute lesson plans offer teachers a flexible and easy way to encourage kindness and empathy in the classroom.
Each of these initiatives offered by Bags Against Bullies comes at a cost, which the Pugliese Family has self-funded and conducted fundraisers to support. To continue the expansion of the programs and to continue to work to eradicate bullying in the classroom, Bags Against Bullies is seeking additional support.
Bags Against Bullies merchandise and apparel designed by Drayke’s three sisters, along with Andrea and Dominic’s sons, can be found at bagsagainstbullies.com. Proceeds fund anti-bullying initiatives for local schools. Additionally, this June, Bags Against Bullies will be hosting a cornhole fundraiser at Stockton University.
“We would like to get the program in as many schools as we can,” shared Andrea Pugliese.
Get involved at bagsagainstbullies.com or send a monetary donation via Venmo to @bagsagainstbullies.
Krystle J Bailey is the author of Nourish: A Journey to Loving and Embracing the Woman Within, host of The Coolest People in the World Podcast, and co-host of Joe’s Table for Two on WOND. She is a regular contributor for Shore Local Newsmagazine and co-host of Shore Local Women’s Network. Krystle can be reached at linktree.com/krystlejbailey.
