Sweethearts & Heroes, an enterprise that describes itself as a “team focused on promoting healthy, positive social connections and relationships while fostering a sense of community and emotional resilience,” along with bringing “the power of hope and action into schools and communities” spent nearly a whole week in South Seneca Central School District during its visit last month.
Sweethearts & Heroes Founder Tom Murphy and his cohort HOPE Expert Rick Yarosh conducted several workshops and assemblies for an entire week in September, spending time with all grades K-12. The reception from the school district was nothing short of grateful and appreciative.
“South Seneca has invited Sweethearts & Heroes to our school regularly since the program started over a decade ago,” Superintendent Steve Zielinski said.
“Their national reputation now is very well deserved, and we find them to be the premier provider of anti-bullying, positive school culture work in the country. More than anything else, their message of teaching students to take ownership of their own school climate is highly impactful and incredibly effective. We are looking forward to more follow-up work throughout this school year, and can't wait to grow our student leadership teams into the future.”
The visit was equally rewarding for Tom and Rick, both who have been doing this for more than a decade.
“We have had some amazing audiences over the years and the South Seneca Students may have cracked our top 10,” Tom said. “They were an amazing audience. And we spent three awesome days in the district. To truly help a culture grow, we have to make the commitment. South Seneca is doing that.”
Rick was deployed to Iraq in December 2005 where he spent nine months before being severely injured by an IED in Abu Ghraib on September 1, 2006. He has lasting scarring and deformities that he admitted to students makes him a target for bullying or name calling. He was happy to answer any and all of students’ questions, and ultimately let them know how he turned his reality into a superpower of strength and vulnerability.
“We want to help these students recognize what they are capable of, changing and saving lives," Rick said. "It just has to be their choice on whether or not they do it. If they truly understand what others are dealing with, it makes it easier."
South Seneca Principal Sarah Horton was confident Tom and Rick accomplished their mission.
“I know that all of the students around me were genuinely impacted and affected by the stories and messages within Tom and Rick's presentation,” she said. “At one point a student said to me ‘This is so sad, but I know we need to talk about it.’ I hope that my students remember their message and carry it with them throughout their interactions with their peers in person and online.”
Tom and Rick left campus feeling like they made a difference, and hope to return next year.
“We recognize that there are kids in this world who feel hopeless,” Tom said. “And we believe that adding more Sweethearts and Heroes in this world is the solution. So in the end, helping students is the reason.
“When we receive the messages and the feedback from the students when we are done presenting,” Tom continued, “we know we made an impact. Hearing from parents after a student has brought the message home is one of the best feelings.”
For more information about Sweethearts & Heroes, visit their website at https://www.sweetheartsandheroes.com.