Coming after one of the most severe examples of bullying one can think of, initiatives calling for us all to make a personal commitment to stop bullying will continue, albeit under darkened skies.
These campaigns hope to shine some extra light on anti-bullying and anti-violence movements, and the many efforts made by teens and parents, students and educators to trigger useful conversations about, and make meaningful contributions to end, online bullying and physical violence.
For example, BullyingCanada, a national anti-bullying charity, is funding such initiatives and now accepting applications for its anti-bullying Scholarship Program.It's open to students in their final year of high school who have worked to end bullying in their schools and communities; cash awards will aid them with their post secondary education.
The first round has three scholarships (1 - $500 and 2 - $250.00) and a fast approaching deadline; the organization says more scholarships will follow in the months to come.
There's also a new campaign from Facebook, along with many organizational partners, to generate and share useful information and resources about bullying prevention.
Called Be Bold: Stop Bullying, it's aimed specifically at inspiring bystanders who are witnesses to bullying, encouraging folks to take a pledge to specific actions that will help stop bullying.
The pledges can be shared with friends and family, others can be 'recruited' to join them in their commitment, and school-based bullying prevention group can be organized with a new social pledge app.
"Promoting safety, online and off, is a top priority for Facebook," said Jordan Banks, Managing Director, Facebook Canada, in announcing the ongoing initiative.
"We hope to inspire millions of bystanders to take action by speaking up when they see bullying occur and help grow a community committed to stopping bullying."
Conducting a one-person campaign out of his home, student filmmaker Patrick Langille is working on his own anti-bullying message, to be contained in movie he wants to shoot in his home town of River John, Nova Scotia.
He's launched a crowd-funding campaign to help the movie get made, and he's asking for $5,000 in donations to help the project make some head way.
The working title is 'Children in Danger' and it's about the experiences of young people who have been bullied, and have taken real steps stop it from happening again, to themselves or to others.