An amazing duo of superheroes without capes from “The World’s #1 Youth Leadership Team” recently descended upon Irvington with messages about HOPE (Hold On, Possibilities Exist), Action and Empathy for students.
Tom Murphy & Sgt. Rick Yarosh, of Sweethearts & Heroes, were at Irvington Middle School on Monday, April 13 and Tuesday, April 14. Sweethearts & Heroes aims to prevent hopelessness, bullying and suicide by providing dynamic, inspiring content that centers on the human interaction skills necessary for schools and other organizations to change all aspects of their culture — skills such as empathy, compassion and teamwork.
Sweethearts & Heroes’ central team of traveling presenters includes Murphy, Director and Founder, of St. Albans, VT; Yarosh, a HOPE expert, Purple Heart recipient and motivational speaker from Vestal, NY, who was burned severely while serving in Iraq; and Pat Fish, BRAVE Director & Circle Specialist. Josiah McKeon and Chad Althiser are also on the traveling team.
While in Irvington, Murphy and Yarosh delivered their anti-bullying assembly to middle school students. Sweethearts & Heroes also introduced middle-schoolers to The Magic Of Circle.
Tina Buzzetto, an Irvington Middle School teacher who led the PTSA grant process that brought Sweethearts & Heroes to Irvington, said students learned inspiring, transformative lessons during their dynamic two days with Murphy and Yarosh, such as: standing up to bullying and mistreatment, providing support and empathy, inclusion and small acts of kindness, increased awareness, and thoughtful action.
“The students and staff had so much positive feedback,” Buzzettto said. “My seventh-grade class has already asked when Sweethearts & Heroes is returning next year. Many staff members have talked to me about what a positive experience the presentation was for them.”
For more than 16 years, Sweethearts & Heroes has presented what Murphy calls “‘the ‘stop, drop and roll’ of bullying” to more than 2.5 million students in school districts from New England to Hawaii and north into Canada. Sweethearts & Heroes also tailors its presentations and professional development workshops for businesses, non-profits and civic groups. Murphy said, “We go where we’re needed. That’s what heroes do.”
Sweethearts & Heroes’ books are: Boredom School: For Those Bored in School, a collection of captivating, humorous and thought-provoking poems by Fish; 13 Pillows For Affective Teachers, a novel by Murphy and Brian McKeon — also of Vermont — that covers the themes of HOPE, Empathy and Action in the Sweethearts & Heroes curriculum; and Yarosh’s illustrated children’s book, A Bridge Named Amos, the true, inspiring story of his hero and late service dog, Amos.
Sweethearts & Heroes has also created The HOPE Classroom, a digital subscription service designed for various grade levels and different school sizes. This value-packed offering can allow Sweethearts & Heroes to be in every school in the U.S.
