San Mateo Bookstore Employee Helps 100 Kids See the Film "Bully"

Editor's Note: The following story was submitted to Patch by Craig Wiesner. To submit an article for publication, please e-mail laura.dudnick@patch.com.

When Drew Durham realized that Wednesday, Oct. 3, would be his 100th shift working at the Reach And Teach shop in San Mateo, he asked the owners what they might do to celebrate.

"Let's do something to thank the community," Drew suggested.

A short while later an email arrived asking local businesses and individuals to help pay for transportation to send San Mateo school children to see "Bully," a film that shows the terrible impacts of bullying in our schools and helps children and adults become upstanders instead of bystanders. 

With October being National Bullying Prevention Month, Reach And Teach co-founder thought that trying to raise enough money to send 100 kids to see the film would be a great way to honor Drew's hard work at the shop, especially given Drew's passion for peacemaking and social justice.

County school officials heading up the Respect 24/7 campaign were thrilled by the offer. By the next day Reach And Teach had launched a campaign to raise $5 per child to pay for transportation and by Thursday, Oct. 4, had raised $500. 

"Our mission is about transforming the world through teachable moments. We can't imagine a more powerful way to give back to our community than to help empower children to reduce or even eliminate bullying in our schools," Co-founder Craig Wiesner said.

"Of course we also got a great cake to celebrate Drew's 100th shift working at the shop." 

Reach And Teach is a peace and social justice learning store, with books, games, toys, films, music, fair-trade gifts, and curriculum that promote peacemaking, gender equality, and sustainable living.

They also offer a "bring your own container" filling station for organic soaps.

The shop is located at 178 South Blvd. in San Mateo. 

Reach And Teach has created a special web page with comprehensive information about and resources to deal with bullying. Visit http://www.reachandteach.com/s/bullied. For more information about the Respect 24/7 San Mateo Campaign, visit https://www.facebook.com/Respect24.7SMC

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