'I Will Be Your Friend': First-Grader's Shirt Fights Bullies

FAYETTEVILLE, GA — The first day of school can be pretty scary for students, especially if they're starting at a new school and may not have any friends, or if they've been bullied in the past. But first-grader Blake from Fayetteville, Georgia, had a way to help other kids.

His mother, Nikki Rajahn, owns Unfading Adornments, a small business specializing in personalization, and told Blake she'd make him a back to school gift of a shirt with any design he wanted.

"It could have anything — a basketball theme, football, etc. which are all his favorites," Nikki wrote on her Facebook page on July 29. "He thought a while and said, 'Will you please make me a shirt that says, "I will be your friend" for all the kids who need a friend to know that I am here for them?' Never underestimate your kid's heart for others! I love my sweet Blake."

That post went viral, and as of Aug. 8, has more than 16,000 likes, 1,500 comments and 8,000 shares.

The consequences of bullying unchecked are devastating in multiple other ways, according to experts. The problem is so pervasive that an estimated 160,000 kids stay home from school every day to escape kids who bully them.

"I am trying to keep up with everyone's comments and read them all to Blake and so far he is blown away!" Nikki said on Facebook. "He doesn't understand why everyone thinks this is a big deal because he thought everyone thinks like him. He said, 'oh this is so great because now more and more people will have more and more friends!' He is just beside himself seeing others wanting to wear the shirt because 'more and more people are going to have friends!'"

Nikki decided to turn the recent fame into something good, much like her son, and added versions of the shirt to her website.

"Let's help Blake spread this message of friendship, acceptance, and support and get as many friends out there as possible," the website says. "A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Real Life Center. RLC helps individuals and families in the Fayette County, Georgia area navigate through the unanticipated challenges of life by providing financial assistance and counseling services, as well as clothing, food and furniture donations to people in need."

As for Blake, Nikki said he had a wonderful first day of school and is enjoying first grade.

"I want to make sure that kids that are bullied know they have a friend already," Blake said on the website.

The shirts and Blake's message are going over well online.

"I love this kid! What a beautiful heart he has. If we had more kids in this world willing to be as open and caring as he is...what a wonderful world it would be!!! Kudos to him!!! Wow," Patricia Cerda wrote on Facebook.

Sheila Brannan Veach wrote, "My eyes started to leak before I could even put a thought together to tell you, this is so precious! Your child and his thoughts are so precious. I wish I lived near you, because it would be amazing to watch this young man grow up, what plans God has in store for him."

Georgia's lawmakers have enacted laws in recent years to outline bullying and disciplinary steps for repeat, plus making school districts start character education programs for students.

Nationally, about one-fourth of U.S. adolescents and teens say they have been cyberbullied at some point in their lives, and around 12 percent say they have bullied others online, according to the Cyberbullying Research Center. Cyberbullying occurs less often than face-to-face bullying — about one in three kids experience that — but the effects of electronic abuse can be more severe than punches and kicks.

Erik Stangvik, No Bully's vice president of development and strategy, said bullying has reached epidemic proportions in the United States and cyberbullying "is even worse," especially among girls who "use the digital landscape in a more vitriolic way."

"When one in three kids is involved in a bullying situation on a daily basis, you know that's epidemic proportion," Stangvik said. "If this was something brought to the CDC and one in three people were getting some kind of disease, that would be an epidemic. We see this as such."

State laws on bullying and cyberbullying have evolved over time. Ten years ago, most laws dealt only with bullying and didn't address the often relentless online torture that has driven some teens and adolescents to the unthinkable decision to take their lives.

In Georgia, a bill would define cyberbullying and prohibit it, but the measure was not enacted.

But the state does address repeat bullies. "Students found bullying third time in school year are sent to alternative school, requires that policies against bullying be posted in all middle and high schools, re­quires that bullying policies be included in student and parent handbooks. …by use of data or software that is accessed through a computer, computer system, computer net­work, or other electronic technology of a local school system…," the Cyberbullying Research Center says.

And Georgia law requires the implementation of a character education program at all grade levels that is to include methods of discouraging bullying and violent acts against fellow students.

The Menace Of Bullies: Patch Advocacy Reporting Project

As part of a national reporting project, Patch has been looking at society's roles and responsibilities in bullying and a child's unthinkable decision to end their own life in hopes we might offer solutions that save lives.

Do you have a story to tell? Are you concerned about how your local schools handle bullies and their victims?

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Earlier In This Series

• Bullied To Death: When Kids Kill With Words
• America's Shameful Truth About School Shooters And Bullying
• Bullying Kids: Straighten Up, Or Your Parents May Have To Pay Up
• Teen Who Killed Himself Wasn’t ‘Worthless,’ Family Tells Bullies
• Menace Of Bullies: Why This Woman Resigned Her 6-Figure Job
• Survivor Of Bullying And Suicide Writes Frankly About Both
• Girl-To-Girl Bullying: Why It’s Different, Difficult To Confront
• The Menace Of Bullies: Most U.S. States Take On Cyberbullying
• Cyberbullying Is Now Against The Law In Michigan
• The Bully Menace: 'The Hurt Never Goes Away'