Published by South Dade News Leader
Jan. 23, 2014
Article by Chris Green
Rising singing star Lizzie Sider visited The Charter School at Waterstone this past week, relaying her anti-bullying message to the students in attendance.
In front of hundreds of kids, Sider, only 15 years old her self, spoke to her experiences as a young kid being bullied in school.
For Sider, a Florida resident, the topic of bullying is one that lies close to the young singer’s heart.
“This topic is something that I am very passionate about,” said Sider. “The more I do these assemblies, the more I realize how strongly I feel about this.”
The idea for an anti-bullying campaign started when Sider wanted to do something to help change he lives of others, and she took off with it from there with help from her parents.
“As soon as I got this idea, I went to my parents and we started putting together these assemblies,” recalled Sider.
Starting with an 80 school tour in California, the message began to spread.
“We contacted the California Schools and got a huge response,” said Sider. “The feedback was so positive that we then took it to the Florida schools.”
Sider is currently in the midst of an over 100 school tour in the state of Florida that will last through March.
Her hit song ‘Butterfly’ speaks to Sider’s own experiences and has become a favorite among the young students at her performances.
“My song Butterfly is a theme song for this tour and it’s a song I wrote about my experiences being bullied,” said Sider. “I’ve gotten messages on twitter and Facebook and from kids to tell me ‘the bullies at my school aren’t bullying anyone anymore’ and that’s just amazing.”
In the end, Sider hopes that her message of being a positive influence on others helps to eliminate the problem of bullying in school, and the contact with the kids only furthers her hopes.
“There’s nothing better than being able to talk to and hug these kids and to talk to them about this and to hopefully inspire some of them,” said Sider. “I just think spending time with these kids is amazing.”
After singing Butterfly, it’s not uncommon for Sider to be overcome with emotions.
“A lot of the times these kids sing this with me and I was brought to tears a couple of times on this tour,” recalled Sider. “I just feel so fortunate in life to have this opportunity.”