Good on you Natalie Hampton on your initiative. It takes some courage to take a painful situation and use it to improve the world.
How fabulous is this app!
“I was ostracized by everyone. I ate lunch alone every day. I was pushed into lockers. I was sent threatening emails,” said high school senior Natalie Hampton of California. “I was physically attacked three times in two weeks and I came home sobbing with bleeding red scratch marks.”
She eventually switched schools, but the memories of those years of torment stuck with her.
“So many people walked back and forth in front of my table and all I wanted to hear was ‘hey are you OK? Come sit with us,'” Natalie said.
Those four words, “come sit with us,” sparked an idea and eventually an app.
“If you go to the search tab, it gives you a whole list of the lunches that you can join in your school without any fear of rejection,” Natalie said.
She created the “Sit With Us” app — free to download, private to use. It connects kids in need of company with welcoming students.
The app now has over 100,000 users in eight different countries, giving Natalie a megaphone for her message.
She’s become an outspoken leader of the anti-bullying movement. She speaks at conferences and even gave a TED Talk.
The app, and its message to be inclusive, is inspiring other students like eighth grader Lola Clark. She created a “Sit With Us” club at her school since they don’t allow cellphones.
Click on the link to read There’s More Effective Methods than Simply Punishing Bullies
Click on the link to read The Best Thing We can Teach Our Students is to Love
Click on the link to read Bullying Victim Teaches His Attackers a Lesson!
Click on the link to read Horrific Bullying Attack Caught on Video
Tags: "Sit With Us" club, anti-bullying, anti-bullying app, Bullying, Natalie Hampton, Natalie Hampton app, Sit With Us, Sit With Us app
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