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Sweethearts & Heroes

Wellsville students will honor Bullying Prevention Month with Sweethearts & Heroes 

WELLSVILLE — October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and an amazing duo of superheroes without capes will descend upon the Wellsville Central School District with strong messages about HOPE (Hold On, Possibilities Exist). 

Tom Murphy and Sgt. Rick Yarosh, of Sweethearts & Heroes — “The World’s #1 Human Development Team” — will bring student empowerment to Wellsville Secondary School on Monday, Oct. 19 and Tuesday, Oct. 20. 

Sweethearts & Heroes aims to prevent hopelessness, bullying and suicide by providing dynamic, inspiring content that centers on the human interaction skills necessary for schools and other organizations to change and strengthen all aspects of their culture — skills such as empathy, compassion and teamwork. 

Sweethearts & Heroes’ robust menu of services includes a profound, engaging signature presentation that calls for HOPE, Empathy and Action; and S.M.A.R.T. Circle, which is built on the ancient ritual of communicating in a circle. 

Sweethearts & Heroes’ central team of traveling presenters includes Murphy, Director, of St. Albans, VT; and Yarosh, a HOPE expert, Purple Heart recipient and motivational speaker from Vestal, who was burned severely while serving in Iraq. 

While at Wellsville Secondary School, Murphy and Yarosh will deliver their assembly to students on Oct. 19 and introduce them to The Magic Of S.M.A.R.T. Circle on Oct. 20. 

“We don’t just want students to sit and listen to a presentation about what bullying or hopelessness looks like — we want them to realize they already have the ‘superpowers’ to change the culture around them,” Murphy said. “We all have H.O.P.E. (Hold On, Possibilities Exist) inside us that we can give to other people. It takes a tremendous amount of courage to help those who are isolated or seen as ‘different,’ but ‘Jumping into Action’ is what heroes do, and we believe everyone has the power to become someone’s hero.” 

For more than 17 years, Sweethearts & Heroes has presented what Murphy calls “‘the ‘stop, drop and roll’ of bullying” to nearly 3 million students in school districts from New England to Hawaii and north into Canada. Sweethearts & Heroes also tailors its presentations and professional development workshops for businesses, non-profits and civic groups. 

“We go where we’re needed,” Murphy said. “That’s what heroes do.” 

Sweethearts & Heroes’ books include 13 Pillows For Affective Teachers, a novel by Murphy and Brian McKeon Jr., also of New York, that covers the themes of HOPE, Empathy and Action in the Sweethearts & Heroes curriculum; and Yarosh’s illustrated children’s book, A Bridge Named Amos, the true, inspiring story of his hero and late service dog, Amos.