WEBER COUNTY, Utah — A local sixth-grader wants to make a difference and put a stop to bullying.
Harley is an 11-year-old student at the Quest Academy technological charter school in West Haven. Unfortunately, Harley knows what it’s like to be bullied.
“I’ve been bullied for a long time since I was in kindergarten. I’ve been bullied a lot,” the boy said.
Harley would go home and read books to try to understand what the bullies were going through to make them treat him this way.
“There was a shift in him once he started asking ‘why’ it happens,” said his mom, Natalie Huggins. “It went from, ‘I feel bad that happened to me’ to ‘I feel bad that kids feel that way.’”
Since October is National Bullying Prevention Month, Harley and his mom started a fundraiser to donate books to local school libraries.
“I’m excited to give them to my library and help kids understand bullying and how to stop it,” said Harley.
The original goal was to raise enough for 31 books: one for each day of the month of October. As of Oct. 23, they received over $1,000 and were able to buy more than 70 books.
Each book is for different age groups and deals with various topics like bullying, conflict resolution, confidence, kindness, and effectively communicating emotions.
“They’re all teacher picks, best-sellers,” said Huggins. “They’ve all won different awards, recommendations from child psychologists.”
Harley and his principal, Nicki Slaugh, decided to incorporate the donated books into the school’s student prep periods.
“I feel like this project is going to make a difference in so many people’s lives,” said Slaugh.
On Monday, Harley dropped off a portion of the books at the Quest Academy library. He plans to donate to 13 schools across the area.
The fundraiser was such a success, Harley is considering doing it again next October.
“I thought about my little brother, and I never want him to go through what I did. Or any kids, for that matter,” he said.
