A: We are based in Smithton, PA, a small town 40 minutes south of Pittsburgh that makes Andy Griffith's Mayberry look like a "major metropolis." Despite these small town beginnings, this program has achieved national impact. This program has been performed from "Eastern Seaboard to West of the Rockies"! Because of this wide travel area, travel cost can vary tremendously. But don't worry. We have designed program packages that put the cost of the presentation within reach of every school in the country. To get the fees and available dates for your school, click here!
Q: We already have a year-long bullying prevention plan we like. How would your assembly program work with it?"
Very, very well. If you currently have an effective bullying prevention plan in place and want to take your efforts to the next higher level, the Bully-Free Amazing Wonder Show will do just that for you. Its strong, action-based foundational approach makes this possible.
In fact, many of the schools that use our assembly program initially hosted it as an addition to their bullying prevention plan, only to use it the next year as the CORNERSTONE OF THEIR BULLYING PREVENTION EFFORTS.
Q: "Listen, I really, really love what I'm hearing.. Is here a way we could get it for FREE??"
Well, YES. Most schools that purchase this program simply have the check cut through the normal school channels. But many schools seek fund sources outside (or close to) the school, like:
Your school's parent teacher group, Local Civic and
Fraternal Organizations*
Local Chambers Of Commerce, Other Business Groups and Local
Businesses, Corporations & Franchises
(Wal-marts,
fast food franchises, etc.)
You may not realize it, but many of these groups
ALREADY HAVE MONEY SET ASIDE FOR GOOD CAUSES LIKE
THIS. They are just
waiting for your school to come up and ask. All it takes is
a few phone calls and letters from you, and the next thing
you know,
the Bully-Free Amazing Wonder Show is at your school for
FREE.
You can even combine these sources.
Example: Half the funds
from your PTA, half the funds from a local business.
*Special
reminder that will help many of our schools
—Catholic
schools may wish to contact their local Knights of
Columbus.
Q:
Will the program work in MY school?
A: You may be
thinking, "Listen, this may work in some schools, but you
haven't seen MY school." Well, I bet you doughnuts to
dollars I've seen one just like it. This program is
presented nearly 300 times a year in every type of school
imaginable. From the richest to the poorest. From the most
rural to the most urban. Public. Private. 1000+ students
down to barely 100 students. From schools that initially
tell me, "We really don't have much of a bullying problem"
to schools that tell me, "We have a very, very serious
problem here." Like the lyrics to the Johnny Cash song,
"I've been everywhere."
But despite their differences, all these schools end up
having one thing in common: after the assembly program,
they’re ecstatic that they’ve hosted this
assembly. Many say it’s the BEST assembly
they’ve ever seen.
Q:
What grade levels is the program appropriate
for?
A:
We
present this program for grade kindergarten through the
eighth grade. With that in mind, please understand there
are
three versions of this program
-- primary (K-2), intermediate (3-5), middle school (6-8).
The programs differ in both content and delivery style. We
can and frequently do successfully present the program for
a K - 5 (even 6) audience, but it is
strongly recommended the middle school presentation be
exclusively for middle schools students.
Q:
What do we need to host your program?
A:
The
kids. That's about it. I don't need a stage and, in fact,
most of the time I present the program in "gymacafetorium".
(One exception to the stage situation: if the kids
are in chairs, I will need to be on a stage or riser. If
the kids are on the floor, not stage or riser is
necessary.)
I don't need a sound system as I bring my own, but if it is
not too much bother, it is always a good idea if you can
have yours ready as a back-up.
Q:
How many student can be in the audience at
once?
A:
400
is about the max. If you have the choice between having the
kids on the floor or in chairs, choose the floor. The floor
allows for more kids per square yard, which in turn brings
the back row closer, which is always best.
Q:
We hosted and loved your program last year. Does is
make sense to host it this year?
A:
Yes. Every
year we create a
NEW version of
the Bully-Free Amazing Wonder Show. The message stays the
same, but the fun, entertaining routines that illustrate
the message are changed every year. In fact, right now,
we're busily working on
next school
year's program. Why do we do this? Why do we go to so much
work?
Schools demand it.
Even
the best programs are usually only asked to come back every
2-3 years.
But the Bully-Free Amazing Wonder Show has proven to be so
popular, many schools want it EVERY
year.
By
the way, this isn't just our opinion.
In the 2006-2007 school year over 75% of our schools
were repeat schools!
Q:
Will this assembly have LASTING effects?
A: This
assembly was designed to have lasting effects by using the
following tools:
1)
We
give the kids "action specific tools". In other words, we
don't give the kids fuzzy ambiguous ideas to deal with
bullying. We give them
specific tasks
to take -- the four steps. Ambiguity doesn't
encourage action.
Specific, easy-to-follow tasks do!
2)
The Bully-Free Membership Card. Trust
me, kids LOVE these things. All kids love souvenirs. The
Bully-Free Membership Card takes advantage of that in a
very positive way to reinforce the program's message. Kids
clamor for these cards and keep them a long time.
3)
Most
assemblies leave schools with 2-3 sheets of paper that they
call "support materials". I'm sorry to inform them, but 3
sheets of paper can't support anything!
No
other bullying prevention assembly programs comes with the
wealth (nearly FIVE POUNDS) of support materials that
accompany this presentation:
☑BULLY-FREE
MEMBERSHIP CARDS!
☑FORTY-FIVE
LESSON PLANS!
☑TEACHER
GUIDES!
☑STUDENT
HANDOUTS!
☑PARENT
HANDOUTS!
☑POSTERS!
☑A
DVD!
Q.
Will This Assembly Program Work Well With Our YEAR ROUND
Bully Prevention Efforts?
A.
As
you read this website, you may noticed similarities to the
year round bully-free plan your school may already have.
There's a reason for this. This assembly program was
designed by researching dozens of different bullying
prevention year long programs. We looked for the core
similarities in all of them to create the
ultimate assembly program to
reinforce your year round message.
Finally ...
Q: I noticed several of the educators on the
comments page
referred to you as "Doc". Why?
A:
"Doc" is a nickname I've had since I was sixteen years old
and served as an emergency medical technician in my home
community. Because so many of my clients have become
friends (because I'm booked back repeatedly for consecutive
years at many schools, I've become a "friendly visiting
uncle") referring to me by my nickname is only
natural.
BONUS SPECIAL REPORT:
"7.5 Secret Funding Sources for
Schools"
You want to
bring an assembly program, like the
Bully-Free Amazing Wonder Show, to your
school, but you
don't have the money.
Think
again.
Even
in today's environment of budget cuts at all of levels of
government and in many businesses, there is still money
available to invest in assembly
programs.
You
just have to know where to look.
Over
the year, I have discovered several different ways that
schools can finance my assembly programs. Unfortunately,
not every school knows all of these different methods.
That's why I wrote this report -- to help you bring in the
assembly programs you want and need for your students.
Secret
Source #1
PTOs,
PTAs and Other School Parent Groups
I
know this may sound like a "not-so secret" source. But,
I've been surprised at how many times a school counselor or
principal told me they could afford an assembly only to
call me back later to say they found the money.
How?
They
decided to call the PTA to see if they would pay, or at
least help pay for the assembly. Most of the
time, a PTA will agree to pay for almost anything the
school requests, providing they have the budget for it.
They are even more likely to invest in assembly programs
because ALL of the students will
benefit.
So,
before you decide against booking an assembly program just
because you don't have enough funding, give you PTA a call.
Secret
Source #2
Government
Grant Funds For Special Subject Areas
Yes,
even with budget cuts, government grant funds do exist for
teaching about certain subject areas. Typically, these
funds are not directly sent to individual schools, but to
school districts, and are usually under the control of the
superintendent, school board, or someone else at the
district level.
There
is funding available from Federal and State Governments for
topics such as
Bullying prevention, Drug and Alcohol, Self-esteem,
Character building, and many other
topics.
The secret is
that often, many people in the schools including principals
and counselors don't even know these funds are available.
The main time they find out about them is when the money
has to be spent at the end of the school year, so they can
get the funding for next year.
Sometimes,
all or a certain portion of the grant money MUST be spent
bringing in outside speakers and assemblies. I've often
been booked at the end of the school year just because
certain types of funds HAD TO BE SPENT on an assembly topic
I address.
So,
be sure to ask at the district level to see if funding is
available for assemblies on the topic you want.
Secret
Source #3
Local
Civic Organizations
Do
you know that certain civic organizations already have
established programs with budgeted monies for special
programs for children?
For
instance, the Elks Clubs raise and distribute monies for
preventing drug use and violence among children. And
what they will invest in each year changes when new
officers are elected. A single phone call to a Civic Group
may get you all the money you need for an assembly (and the
club gets some
"very positive publicity", too). Some of
the clubs to check with are: Rotary clubs, Lions
clubs, Kiwanis clubs, Shrine clubs, Elks clubs, Eagle
clubs, Moose lodges, and many others.
You
may not get an answer immediately, because the club may
have to vote on your request, but give a call to you local
civic club if you're short of funds for one of our
programs. Quite often,
school principals and superintendents are members of one or
more of these groups.
Secret
Source #4
Chambers
Of Commerce And Other Business Groups
Businesses
get asked for donations all of the time. And many very
small businesses truly can't afford to make donations. But
a lot of businesses can work together to help the
community. Chambers of Commerce are a tremendous resource
for the community.
And,
they have a vested interest in making sure that the local
schools are the best they can be. Sometimes they even have
an account of money sitting there to help the
schools,
but only IF the schools ask!
So,
give your local Chamber of Commerce a call if you're short
of funding for your next school assembly.
Secret
Source #5
Corporations
& Franchises
Do
you know that most corporations have Community Relations
Programs? And most of the time, those programs exist to
distribute money (or goods and services) to the groups who
ASK.
That's
the key.
You have to ask. Most of the
time, they won't come to you just to give you money. They
wait until it is requested of them.
(Individual
Wal-Mart stores have been very generous sources of
community help.)
So
give you call to you local branch of a large corporation if
you are in need of funding help for assemblies.
Secret
Source #6
Multi-Presentation
Discounts
Whenever
a school calls our office for a price quote, we always give
them the prices for 1,2,3 and 4 presentations in a day,
even if they only require one presentation.
Why?
Because,
for obvious reasons, all the travel cost for an assembly
must be attached to the first presentation AND the
additional assemblies are offered at a lesser fee because
we're already in your area. This option is
so popular, more than half of our clients take advantage of
it.
Often,
just by talking to one other school, you can save hundreds
off your per presentation price.
Secret
Source #7
Multi-Presentation
Discounts Get-Togethers
I
call this Secret Source
"Seven and a HALF" because it's a
variation of source #7. Get together with other schools in
your area and host the program at your district's middle
school or high school,
meaning transport kids from two (or more) different schools
to one location.
Then you get to split the cost of one program among 2-3
different schools. The only
limitation on this is that the total amount of students
can't be so large that it exceeds our audience size limits.
And for a couple of small schools of 200 or less, that's no
problem!
Secret
Source #7.5
Combine
Resources
That's
right, you don't have to get all of your funding form one
source to finance your assembly.
You can get
some
money from each of the several different sources I've
previously mentioned.
You can combine
all of these into one account and write a single check to
the assembly presenter or have each check written to the
presenter directly.
So,
don't give up if you can't get enough funding from
one single
source.
Conclusion:
There you have it. 7.5 different ways to find the money to
invest in the Bully-Free Amazing Wonder
Show.