Fighting back
against bullying
BULLYING CAN HAVE a different effect on
different people. The effect is often negative, sometimes deadly. Toledo, Ohio, pre-teen Ruthanne Johnson chose to “brush it
off my shoulder”—until it became severe
and threatening. What started as taunts of
“You’re fat! You’re ugly!” soon led to the
discovery of a notebook outlining five different ways to kill her.
“I kind of was at my breaking point,”
Ruthanne says. “I was watching the Oprah
show and I went on the Oprah website to
learn more about what I was watching and
they had an email [link] and said if you have
a story, click here.”
She sent in her story but didn’t expect
anything. “When I wrote the letter I wasn’t
thinking about the bigger picture,” she says.
“I thought this was going to be a hollow
effort and nobody would hear me. I’d just
be screaming alone.”
But the people at Oprah Winfrey’s pro-
duction company did hear her and invited her
to an event at Harvard University, where Lady
Gaga, Ruthanne’s idol, was set to launch her
Born This Way Foundation, founded “to foster
a more accepting society, where differences
are embraced and individuality is celebrated,”
according to the foundation’s website.
Meeting Lady Gaga backstage was
more than a dream come true, it was an
inspiration, says Ruthanne. Soon after
returning home, she told her parents,
Costco members Ryan and Becky Johnson,
that she wanted to start her own organization to help other victims of bullying.
The Be You Foundation (beyoufounda
tion.org) is a 501(c) 3 organization, dedicated
to education, with the goal of inspiring
schools throughout Ohio, the United States
and the world to start anti-bullying programs.
Now somewhat of an idol herself,
Ruthanne has lofty goals for Be You. “I
really hope that my foundation will grow
and grow,” says the now-13-year-old. “And
I really hope to impact and save a lot of
lives.”—Steve Fisher
WHAT DICKSON SENKUNDA remembers most
about growing up in his native Uganda was the
scarcity of books. Even today, many schools in
Uganda lack libraries and are lucky to have one
textbook for every 20 students, leaving the
country with a literacy rate of only 68 percent.
Senkunda, who eventually emigrated to
America, where he completed his education,
wants to help children in Uganda have the kind
of meaningful lives that books and literacy can
provide. Dr. Seuss and Charles Dickens are
helping him do that. Since 2008, Teach the
Children,
www.teachthechildrenuganda.org,
Teach the
Children
Dickson Senkunda shares the gift of reading with Ugandan students
the nonprofit organization Senkunda founded
with his wife, Heather, has shipped more than
5,000 pounds of books to schools in Uganda
from their home in Shoreline, Washington.
One of the proudest moments in his life
occurred last year when Senkunda visited one
of the 13 schools the program helps. “Students
who couldn’t read when we first started the
program were so excited to sit down and read
to us. It was just amazing,” says Senkunda, a
senior business analyst for United Health Care.
He was even more inspired when he learned
that students were bringing books home to
share with their families—and then bringing
them back in perfect condition.
The group accepts donations of books
and/or cash. Teach the Children uses monetary donations to visit schools, build book-shelves and purchase new books. Its main
goal now is to provide the schools with up-to-date textbooks.
HEATHER SENKUNDA
Running Teach the Children is a challenge
for the Senkundas, who work full time and
have three daughters under the age of 4, but it
is one they embrace wholeheartedly. “To see
the light in the eyes of the children and the joy
that they experience in learning is the reward,”
Senkunda says. “They soak it all up, and it is so
humbling to be able to watch it all unfold.”
—Fran R. Schumer
Guided bristles
So far, they’ve donated 9,475 tooth-
brushes to nonprofits working with children
in Central America, India, the Philippines,
Africa and the U.S. They plan to give 18,400
toothbrushes in the coming months. The
Copes call them stocking stuffers that make a
difference.—Maria Bellos Fisher
TWO YEARS AGO, Costco members Eric
and Geri Cope of Kirkwood, Missouri, went
to Central America on one mission and
returned with another. They traveled to
Guatemala, where they’d adopted their son
five years before, and, through the philanthropic Buckner International organization,
helped to run a dental clinic. Geri played with
the kids while Eric taught them how to brush
their teeth. Through their experience, they
learned that most poor Guatemalan kids
don’t own a toothbrush, and if they do, their
whole family shares it.
“Seeing the poverty there, we knew we
couldn’t fix all of it,” says Geri. “We just wanted
to do something. When kids don’t own a
toothbrush, it’s a small thing that can make
such a big difference.” Poor dental health may
contribute to heart disease, diabetes, respiratory diseases and low-birth-weight babies.
Untreated cavities can cause serious infections.
MICHELLE ROSS W WW. UNDERGRACEPHOTO. COM
In April 2010, the Copes, who each had a
career in the financial services industry,
started work on a business that would
donate one toothbrush for every
toothbrush sold, and Smile Squared
was born. They wanted a sustainable product, and they found a
bamboo toothbrush that fit the
bill. They launched the business on
their website,
www.smilesquared.com,
in November 2011.
