In her life Amanda Todd suffered at the hands of bullies who stalked her and harassed her, in an ordeal that started in cyberspace and spilled into the schoolyard.
Before she died at the age of 15, Amanda created a video telling of
her painful experiences in the hope of saving other youths such
suffering.
"I'm not doing this for attention. I'm doing this to be an inspiration and to show that I can be strong," Amanda wrote.
Her dream of helping kids is being carried on in the Amanda Todd
Legacy, established by her family. This initiative will raise money for
anti-bullying education and for support programs to help young people
with mental health problems.
Despite growing awareness about the potentially devastating
consequences of bullying, advocates working to combat the problem say
they're badly in need of financial support.
The Todd family knows Amanda would want to help, to see her mission carried on.
"Amanda was a very caring individual. She would help others who
needed help," Amanda's mother Carol told the Vancouver Sun. "One of
Amanda's goals was to get her message out there and have it used as a
learning tool for others."
It is a message that must be heard; a message aimed at ending bullying.
"We
as adults have to pay attention to it. We have to recognize when we see
it happening, and then once we see it happening we have to address it
properly," British Columbia Premier Christy Clark told the Vancouver Sun
in an interview following Amanda's death. "I don't believe for a second
that anyone who is bullied doesn't want to report the fact that they
were bullied; they don't trust that the people to whom they'll report it
will use the information in a way that's going to protect them."
As reported by the Vancouver Sun, "In putting together her video,
which Amanda did all on her own, Carol said her daughter wanted to help
other young people who are being bullied and to bring attention and
education to the problem in the hope of seeing it eradicated."
"I have lost one child but know she wanted her story to save 1,000 more."
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