Be THE Voice® was born in the Roswell Rotary club (RRC) in 2014 as a 12 week video series that featured a variety of celebrities sharing personal stories designed to empower the student bystander to support their peers when witnessing bullying. Initially launched in the fall of 2015 in 8 area schools (led by RRC Interact clubs), BTV has expanded its messaging to address a wide variety of issues in which our young people are facing. Today, BTV has morphed into a student-led “movement” for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion impacting hundreds of thousands of students statewide!
The Be THE Voice® (501c3) platform is built upon proven techniques that help develop important interpersonal skills – through first-hand experiences – which result in confident student leaders in the classroom and beyond. Something of utmost importance post-pandemic as students returned to the classroom and faced a variety of issues that went well beyond academics. They were immediately overwhelmed with the accelerated academic schedule, on top of learning how to interact again, face-to-face. As a result, conflict, stress, anger and anxiety were prevalent in school systems nationwide. Sadly, one in five teens has symptoms of a mental health disorder such as depression or anxiety, and suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death.
Neuroscience research has proven that “strong peer relationships and supportive programs can help buffer the effects of stress”. Meaning, students who feel safe and happy in their school will be able to focus their attention on learning and will perform better academically. BTV creates a school culture that embraces diversity, where students feel connected with their peers, allowing classrooms to run smoothly.
RRC continues to be a key funder of the BTV campaign, and leverages the club's robust Interact program to implement BTV across elementary, middle and high schools in Roswell. In addition, many other Interact clubs throughout D 6900 facilitate BTV as it continues to be a beautiful visual of Rotary International’s motto of “Service above Self”. Hear why: Be THE Voice and Rotary - a winning team! - Be THE Voice (be-the-voice.org)