Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Cinema, local group join bullying fight

Cinema, local group join bullying fight | SeacoastOnline.com

By Jennifer Feals
jfeals@seacoastonline.com
June 11, 2010 2:00 AMPORTSMOUTH — Community groups and a popular entertainment destination are teaming up to help stop bullying.

Today's opening of the new "Karate Kid" movie will jumpstart an anti-bullying informational fair hosted by Regal Fox Run Stadium 15 and the Community Diversion Program. The fair, which runs today through Sunday, will include resources on how parents, children and the community can help prevent bullying.

"We want to reduce the impact of bullying and build communities where bullying is unacceptable and the horrible consequences are dealt with so they don't come into being," said William Meub, youth service coordinator for the Community Diversion Program, a youth court diversion program that aims to help locals make healthier choices.

From 5 to 8 p.m. tonight, centered around the 7 p.m. showing of "Karate Kid," the Community Diversion Program will offer information, a video workshop and tips on what bullying is, how it can be stopped and what adults can do. Community organizations and businesses like Matt Randall's Black Belt Academy, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Greater Seacoast, and Awareness Unlimited will provide demonstrations and information. Information will also be available in the theater's lobby throughout the weekend.

With its messages of self-confidence and positive mentoring relationships, "Karate Kid" was a perfect film to associated with the fair, Meub said. The film tells the story of a young bullied teenager with nowhere to turn until he finds a mentor, who teaches him martial arts and how to overcome his challenges.

"In learning those martial arts skills, he gains self-confidence, self-discipline and he basically stops being a victim and gains control of his own life," Meub said. "And he starts developing that really important mentoring relationship. Mentoring relationships with an older person are really important for the healthy development of youth. While that is key, so is physical activity that builds self-confidence."

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