Last April, the young Maxime Collard, 12, and his mother, Isabelle Marchand, organized a big step in Sorel-Tracy in order to denounce bullying at school. Today, they will both receive the Paul Gérin-Lajoie Tolerance Prize, awarded by the Tolerance Foundation.
In various media, including the popular show Everybody talks about it, young Maxime denounced violence at school. He himself began to be bullied in kindergarten. It has never stopped since. During the interview, he even admits to having considered ending his life.
After making an appeal on Facebook, Maxime organized a big walk with his mother. Education Minister Line Beauchamp and actor Jasmin Roy, whose foundation the fight against bullying in schools, in particular took part. They also started a petition.
"Maxime Collard and Isabelle Marchand showed us last spring what can be done to fight exclusion and intimidation," said the director of the Tolerance Foundation, Anne Lagacé Dowson, in a press release. Previous recipients of this award are Father Emmett “Pops” Johns and Dr. Gilles Julien.
The Tolerance Foundation offers workshops in schools to raise awareness among young people to respect differences. Since 1995, she has visited 550 schools and offered 6,800 workshops.
A book to counter bullying
In addition, life coach and specialized educator Nancy Doyon has just launched a book entitled No to bullying. It aims to give young people aged 7 to 12 the tools to defend themselves effectively against bullying. “Bullies rarely prey on young people who are assertive and have an attitude that reflects self-confidence. These are the attitudes to develop to counter bullying, ”the press release mentions.
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