By Debbie Cwalina
In the fall of 2014, shortly after I joined the Rotary Club of Roswell, Georgia, I came across a disturbing article about the rise in suicides among middle-school-aged kids due to cyberbullying. It immediately made me think of my brother who endured years of bullying. Reflecting on some of the ways I came to his support, I began to think up the concept behind a program that would empower students to step in and use their platform to create a force to combat bullying.
Be THE Voice was launched shortly after I met Michael Schoppenhorst, who co-founded the program with me along with the incredible support of my Rotary club. Interact clubs in a handful of area schools implemented the program and it has since evolved into a student-led movement promoting kindness and inclusion and impacting hundreds of thousands of students in our Rotary District 6900.
It’s pretty cool when you think about it! Be THE Voice is a Rotary-born initiative, proudly sponsored by Rotary clubs, with many leveraging their Interact clubs to facilitate the program. Its success has not only been due to the popularity of its student-led platform, but from the longstanding partnerships between my club and other Rotary partners throughout our district. Interact clubs love leading a program that embraces Rotary values. Be THE Voice’s mission aligns perfectly with Rotary’s focus on promoting peace. Rotary creates environments where peace can thrive; precisely what our program is fostering in K-12 schools in Georgia.
The statistics speak for themselves. In Georgia’s fourth-largest school district, the 28 schools involved in our program experienced a substantial decline in bullying incidents from 2021 to 2023. Compared to schools that were not in the program, there was a 95% reduction in elementary schools, a 77% decrease in middle schools, and a 91% drop in high schools. These numbers represent real change and a safer learning environment for our children. You can hear this directly from the assistant superintendent who shared this amazing data with us in here YouTube video.
Rotary is continually working to recruit younger members. Backing a highly visible program focused on improving children’s social and emotional well-being is a great initiative. The Be THE Voice platform impacts the entire school community with five months of motivational messages that teach students to “Do what is Right, not what is Easy.” The messages resonate beyond the classroom and into the households of parents, teachers, and administrators.
Be THE Voice’s impact is being recognized beyond our state. The program was selected as one of the top 35 mission-driven changemakers of 2024 by the Public Information Registry, out of a pool of 1,700 non-profit organizations in 69 countries.
We are eager to promote Be THE Voice to Rotary members beyond Georgia. I am confident that our dynamic, youth-led approach will continue to create a kinder, more inclusive school climate while elevating awareness of Rotary and the work we do in empowering youth.
Debbie Cwalina is the co-founder and executive director of Be THE Voice and a member of the Rotary Club of Roswell, Georgia, USA. Learn more about the program at www.be-the-voice.org
https://blog.rotary.org/2025/02/13/be-the-voice-targets-bullying/