One of the main goals of Steps to HOPE’s outreach to area schools is to encourage students and faculty to be better comrades to each other.

For the month of March, bulletin boards were placed in Landrum and Polk County middle schools, and in Polk County High School, which encourage all who read them to “be the change.” One kind word or gesture can turn a person’s day around and could be just what they need to keep going.

In light of the recent school shooting tragedy in Florida, threats made to our own area schools following that attack, and ongoing issues with bullying across America, Steps to HOPE strongly believes that we, each of us, as individuals and as a community, can make a difference. How we treat people and the relationships we build are incredibly important to us and to those around us.

The change begins with us. The change begins with you.

Each month of the school year, Steps to HOPE has been allowed to place bulletin boards in LMS, PCMS, and PCHS as a community outreach project. The boards use current, popular, and/or topical subjects to encourage students and faculty in some way and deliver positive messages to students and staff.

Steps to HOPE’s contact information is prominently displayed for anyone who might need services provided by Steps to HOPE, the local domestic violence and sexual assault center serving western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina.

If you or someone you know is being abused, please call 828-894-2340.

This outreach program is now partially supported by the Polk County Community Foundation. If you would like to help sponsor this program or another that furthers the mission of Steps to HOPE, please call 828-894-2340.

– Submitted by Paula Ravan