Anti-bullying fundraiser March 14

February 25, 2013

LINCOLN — The Community Against Bullying in Schools will hold its Let Kindness Bloom fundraising gala on Thursday, March 14 at Kirkbrae Country Club, 197 Old River Road, Lincoln, from 6 to 10 p.m.
The event will feature a dinner prepared by Kirkbrae chefs, a silent auction, a display of student anti-bullying artwork, guest speakers, and music by entertainer Matty B.
Proceeds from the gala will go toward the organization’s main objective: to keep bullying out of the schools and provide students with a safe learning environment, free of abuse and ridicule. The organization supports and has participated in the Third Eye Youth Crime Watch.
“Our organization is built to give people tools to end bullying,” said Deborah Michalenka of Lincoln, one of the organizers for the Community Against Bullying in Schools. “These tools can make schools safer and more enjoyable for students. We teach them to treat others the way they would like to be treated. ‘Kindness’ is our motto.”
The Community Against Bullying in Schools was established by a group of concerned parents after Deborah and Peter Michalenka lost their son, Jeffrey, in 2006. He took his life a week after his 16th birthday. Jeffrey suffered relentless bullying in school and online, according to his parents, who joined the organization shortly after Jeffrey’s death.
Tickets to the gala are $65 and can be obtained via the organization’s website CABINSRI.org or by emailing DCD@cabinsri.org. Tickets are available until March 1 and may be purchased through PayPal.