News 2006 - 2013
2006 Over My Shoulder
At Age 11, She is YOUR Anti-Bullying Mentor
Today’s amazing mentoring story is written by our Over My Shoulder Foundation (OMSF) resident poet, Marissa Ranahan. Marissa sheds some light on the anti-bullying work being done by an 11-year-old named Elayna Hasty. Young minds do great things, and it is part of the work we do at OMSF to help YOU to start thinking about those first glimmers of brilliance in your own career – and recognizing them in young minds waiting for mentors. Waiting for someone to watch over their shoulder.You can see sparks from such a young age. From Elayna’s passion for spreading the anti-bullying message to 7-year-old Carly Connor’s expertly executed interview with American Idol singer Ayla Brown, Over My Shoulder Foundation is rooting for them – for mentors. If you don’t take our word for it, take the word of Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour. In a promo for “The Fashion Fund” (a new mentor-centric TV show) she says, “I love seeing people at the beginning of their careers. It is then when they have their first spark.”Let Elayna’s spark ignite your inspiration for mentoring and don’t wait to make Mentorology (the art and science of mentoring) a part of YOUR life today.Dawn Carroll, Over My Shoulder Foundation Co-Founder and Executive Director11 Year Old Elayna Hasty, GAB Girls Founder“Stand up for what is right, even if you’re standing alone because it just takes one to make a positive difference.”– Elayna Hasty
2006 Super Girl Radio
2012 YES FM Radio
2012 True Beauty
2013 Bryan Times
Montpelier Girl Inspires
Posted: Thursday, July 18, 2013 12:00 am
By JENNA DAILEY Times Reporter
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MONTPELIER - At only 11 years old, she's already donated more than 400 hours of community service.
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Elayna Hasty, a sixth grader at Montpelier Elementary, has received the Kids Are Heros award for her tireless efforts to found and promote Girls Against Bullying, or G.A.B. Girls.
2013 Inspire Me Today
Reaching Within To Reach Out to Help Others
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04 May 2013/by Elayna Hasty/0 Comments/in Brilliance, Youth Topics: Helping Others
If I could share 500 words to inspire, this is the important wisdom I'd want to pass along to others...
Bullying is a huge problem that affects a lot of people. Every kind of bullying is as bad as the rest. Adults get bullied too. One out of four kids get bullied and 85% of the time no one intervenes. School should be a safe place for all but has become a battle ground of intolerance.
One of the nicest and smartest girls in my class gets bullied. The kids call her a teacher’s pet and she doesn’t do anything wrong. She has even been a victim of cyber bullying. I was being bullied in first grade, I just moved to a new school. The first day I walked in there was a group of girls that mocked me. All I said was “Hi, my name is Elayna.” They were mocking me. I thought one of the mean girls was just having a bad day, but the next day it was worse. After two weeks of crying, I finally told my mom everything that was happening.
People get bullied for their gender, religion, ethnicity, and even for having a disability. Even famous people that you wouldn’t expect to be bullied, are bullied. Lady Gaga, Demi Lavto, and even some of my favorite stars are or have been bullied. I love Carrie Underwood and would love to sing along with Selena Gomez to her song “Who Says”. People don’t need a reason to bully.
My words of wisdom, coming from a eleven year old, are to stay positive and even to smile at the bully even if they say something you don’t like. Have someone role play with you so that you know how to handle the bully with confidence. Even if you have to fake the confidence. If you practice it, then you will become confident.
Make sure you tell an adult. To adults that have children that are being bullied, recognize the behavior and notice if your child is acting different than usual. That’s a good key that something is not right.
Even try to be nice to the bully. We all have growing pains and have experiences that hurt us. Sometimes people that are hurting hurt others because they don’t know any different.
If you see someone that is being bullied, speak up. You may think it’s making a small difference, but it will mean lot to the person that is being hurt. If we all would help one another then the world would be so much nicer. It takes love, compassion, strength, and forgiveness to overcome bullying. Friends that help pull us up make it even easier.
Finally the most important thing is that beauty comes from within and true beauty like that is power. It doesn’t matter what people think of your outside. Appearance changes from year to year. Our hearts don’t.
This is what I think true beauty is… it’s making a difference in one’s community, being kind to a stranger, standing up for what is right (especially if it’s tough), and making healthy choices. Making those choices will give you confidence and confidence will help you overcome all bullies, even sometimes our biggest bully… ourselves.
2013 Tamika Hall Radio
