Almost every freshman year, Bloom 365 has come to the school and performed a week and a half of lessons about abuse through teen dating and throughout young teens’ lives.
Different team members came to the freshman PE classes and taught hundreds of young teens about the dangers of dating. They described how to tell the differences between what is toxic and what is healthy in relationships for teenagers. They went into detail about how to identify toxic behaviors to watch out for and what to do to avoid these situations. According to Charles Strader, freshman, the Bloom 365 lessons were informational and well-educated many students on the subject of abuse.
A big factor of the lessons each day was the “Elephant in the Room Cards.” These were small, rectangular cards with a QR code and an elephant on the back. The cards were used to write down any questions, jokes, or drawings, or to vent out any feelings and experiences. After each day, students would turn in the cards and weeks later would be able to see the answers to their cards using the QR code.
At the end of the lessons Bloom 365 taught, they mentioned that students here at this school would be able to form a Bloom 365 club and spread awareness around the school. Each of the team members that arrived at the school described how people could be given items to hand out, shirts to wear, flyers to help those in need, or to make teen dating abuse more limited by informing up to hundreds of kids about these behaviors.
The team members of Bloom 365 help limit the amount of dating abuse by informing thousands of young teens about the dangers that abuse can bring. By not sugarcoating their lessons and giving the full amount of harm, it shows these teenagers that it’s a serious matter and just how bad and deadly certain actions can be.
Bloom 365 gave every class of freshman students a QR code, separate from the Elephant in the Room Cards, to scan and sign up for this awareness club. Though it’s not mandatory, it’s highly encouraged due to the high amount of young teens experiencing high counts of abuse, or in some cases, death. On multiple occasions, there have been teens of different ages who have lost their lives due to an abusive partner or ex of theirs.
Though the club hasn’t been made yet, applications for forming it or joining it are available any time as long as you have the QR code needed to sign up, which is located in the Pride Point room in the F Building. Joining the club is not limited to only the freshman class but to any year wanting to join.
