Sixth-Grade East Windsor Student Raises Over $1000 to Help Fight Bullying

There wasn’t one moment that triggered Joleigha Howland to start fighting against bullying, but after a few small ideas and three short months, she had raised over $1,000 to donate to the cause.

In October last year, 11-year-old Howland, with the help of her mother, Tara Howland, created a Facebook group called B.U.L.L.i.E.D after seeing kids being bullied. The group had 552 members as of Wednesday night.

The idea was to offer support for kids who are bullied, and the group description provides additional websites and phone numbers for helplines.

“I’m trying my hardest to just make this much bigger, with bigger consequences [for bullying],” Joleigha said.

After the mother-daughter team came up with the acronym B.U.L.L.i.E.D., which stands for Be Urself, Live, Love, inspire, Educate and Divert, they decided to create bracelets with the slogan.

The lowercase “i” in the acronym was a mistake, but Joleigha made it work by using it in other slogans, such as “i stand out” and “i stood up to bullying” on the Facebook group.

The Howlands spent $65 on their first order of bracelets, not knowing if they would sell, and to their surprise it took off. Tara said she had to make a second rush order because so many people were buying them.

To date, they have sold around 350 bracelets, and all proceeds are donated to help fight bullying. Joleigha presented Principal Lori Stein with a $500 check on Tuesday as her first donation. Stein said the money would be used to fund activities for Respect Week in the school.

When Joleigha presented the check to Stein, she also told Mayor Janice Mironov, East Windsor Regional Schools Superintendent Edward Forsthoffer and other school staff her story.

“I’m very proud of what you’ve started,” Mayor Janice Mironov told Joleigha. “I think it’s particularly important that it comes from young people, that it’s driven by young people to their peers and friends because that’s going to be the most important way to send a message and to actually get people to pay attention and listen to what you’re saying,” Mironov said.

Joleigha said she is donating the other $500 she has raised to the Tyler Clementi Point Scholarship fund, which will help a student who has been bullied pay for college.

To sell bracelets, Joleigha set up a table at a flea market and talked to kids who came up to the table about anti-bullying. She charged $3 per bracelet.

Most of Joleigha’s friends are supportive of her efforts, and some, including Peyton Williams, her mom Felicia Williams, and Karina Ryan, have joined the Howlands in helping raise money. On Feb. 1 they are holding a bake sale at a wrestling match, which starts at 6:30 p.m.

But Joleigha didn’t stop at raising money for the cause. She has also created anti-bullying videos and posted them to YouTube and Facebook in hopes of spreading the word.

Joleigha’s father, Demetrio Howland, said his daughter also puts out challenges of the week on Facebook, such as “if you see a kid being bullied, go up to them and put your arm around them.”

Tara said in elementary school Joleigha was quieter, and some kids made fun of her from time-to-time for her style. At first, Tara was concerned it would get worse in middle school, but after Joleigha started dancing at ICON Dance Complex, the same studio ICONic Boyz from America’s Best Dance Crew dances, she came out of her shell.

“I know for a fact that I have not been bullied as hard as some other kids,” Joleigha said.

She talked about the number of kids who have attempted suicide and committed suicide from bullying, and others who are scared to go back to school because of being picked on.

“We’re trying to raise money to give it to the schools to make bigger consequences so that the kids can go back to school not scared and fearful anymore, so that they can be happy again,” she said.

The Howlands said they were surprised at how quickly the bracelets took off, and are trying to create a non-profit foundation. They are looking looking for an attorney to handle the paperwork, but are hoping to find one to do it at a reduced rate so they can donate the money raised instead.

“I hope that it helps all around the world, that it spreads, and that something happens to this,” Joleigha said. “I want to help everywhere, as much as I possibly can.”

To purchase a bracelet or donate, visit the website or Facebook page to contact Tara Howland.