Students at Greentree School had a special performance last Thursday, February 9, to shed light on bullying.
Country music artist Ryan Laird was at the school to perform and to deliver a special message on bullying prevention and youth empowerment.
‘It went really well, the kids were really enthusiastic,” he said. ‘We had a really good time.”
While there are many programs that deliver these important messages, the inspiration for this performance come from Laird himself. As a youngster pursuing his dream of becoming a country star, he found himself being bullied in school.
“It stuck with me through the years because I was a really shy kid and didn’t know what to do about it at the time,” he explains. “Later when I became a country music artist, a few years ago, I was approached by my youth councillor at school. She asked me to come in and talk to the kids about what has happened in my life and how I overcame those barriers to make my dream come true.”
It evolved into the Bigger Than That tour. In the last few years, he has been in front of more than 400,000 youth across Canada.
“It is very rewarding in many ways but probably most rewarding is to hear the feedback from not only students, but the parents afterward on social media, saying their son or daughter felt motivated from it and want to chase after a goal they have in their life,” he said.
“Also with some of the more serious ones, where kids are getting picked on, for them not to get down on themselves, and they will remember to see the positivity.”
The tour continues throughout Alberta.
“We have 33 shows over the next month or so. We are going all over the province trying to spread the word,” he said.
More can be learned at www.biggerthanthat.org.
