United Way
using pencils to underline message
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
PENCIL PUSHERS — Rather than presenting the usual lapel pin as a way of thanking donors, the United Way of Aroostook will be giving pencils to every K-12 student in Aroostook County with anti-bullying messages in honor of the donors’ contribution. Stuffing envelopes with pencils that will be mailed to county schools are, from left: Claudia Stevens, executive director of the United Way of Aroostook; Cheri Doak, president; and campaign chairs Tim Doak and Wanda Guiggey.
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
PRESQUE ISLE — The United Way of Aroostook has come up with an interesting way to thank donors while at the same time taking a stand against bullying in schools.
“Normally when people contribute to United Way through their workplace campaign we’ve always given them a small token of our appreciation. Most often it’s been a lapel pin that says ‘United Way’ or ‘Live United,’” said Claudia Stevens, executive director. “We’ve given those year after year, and we have a lot of the same people who are giving who have dozens of our pins in a drawer.
“As I was looking for something different to give to them, I came across anti-bullying pencils which have these neat messages on them,” she said. “We decided to give the pencils to school kids and make a little card to give to our donors that says, ‘Thank you for contributing to United Way. In honor of your contribution, a pencil will be given to students in the county.”
Stevens said her office contacted all the superintendents in Aroostook County, and the response to the anti-bullying pencil project was overwhelming.
ANTI-BULLYING MESSAGES adorn the pencils that will be given to every K-12 student in The County thanks to the United Way of Aroostook. 
The brightly colored pencils feature such messages as “Bullying Stops Here,” “Bully-Free Zone,” “No Bullying” and “Be a Buddy, Not a Bully.”
“They were all extremely interested,” said Stevens. “Most schools are doing something regarding bullying anyway, so they were quite thrilled about the pencils as it goes along with what they’re trying to do.”
Eleven thousand pencils — one for each student in Aroostook— have been ordered and will soon be sent to area schools.
“When we started with this, we didn’t know if we’d gear it toward children in grades K-6 or 6-12,” said Stevens, “so I made the decision to give the pencils to everyone … grades K-12. They’ll be distributed to the schools within the next week or so, and how the schools choose to distribute the pencils will be up to them.”
The brightly colored pencils feature such messages as “Bullying Stops Here,” “Bully-Free Zone,” “No Bullying” and — Stevens’ personal favorite — “Be a Buddy, Not a Bully.”
Though known for raising funds and supporting county health and human service agencies, Stevens said the anti-bullying message fits in with its mission of helping others.
“One of our areas of interest, or what we call impact areas, is strengthening children and families,” she said. “Bullying in the schools causes a great deal of problems for children. It causes them to not want to go to school or impairs their ability to learn, so anything we can do to make a child’s day better at school is going to be a good day for us and something the United Way is interested in.
“There are many, many things that can affect a child going to school and while this is just a small piece of it, if we have the capacity to put a message in the hands of every child that bullying just isn’t cool and they shouldn’t be doing it,” said Stevens, “then it may keep some children from bullying others. It won’t solve the problems of the world, but it may make someone stop and think about their actions.”
Stevens called the $1,600 to buy the pencils a “worthwhile investment.”
