The New York Jets, STOMP Out Bullying and Municipal Credit Union announced today that 7th grader Molly S. of Pequannock Valley School in Pompton Plains, NJ has been named this week's Jets Upstander of the Week.
Returning for 2017, the New York Jets will continue their anti-bullying school initiative called "Jets Upstander of the Week." For each of the 16 weeks during the season, the Jets will ask schools to submit a photo and description of a student that is an Upstander. The Jets will highlight one Upstander a week across their social media platforms and on the video boards during home games.
"Molly was having lunch with several of her friends when they began discussing another girl seated down at the end of their table and commenting on how she was fat," said Terri Praschak, school counselor. "The conversation turned toward how much she was eating, and how she over-ate at a recent party. All this upset Molly so much and she began to cry. When the girls asked why she was crying she told them that they were being mean and that they shouldn't talk about a classmate in such a cruel manner. Because Molly informed me of this exchange, I had the opportunity to speak with the other girls involved to prevent the situation from eventually escalating to direct teasing and name-calling."
Through the organization's collaboration with STOMP Out Bullying, along with support from Municipal Credit Union, the Jets have provided educator prevention toolkits to over 1,000 schools in the tri-state area at no cost, conducted their annual Jets Tackle Bullying Symposium, created awareness through a robust PSA campaign and annually host an anti-bullying awareness day at MetLife Stadium on game day.
