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🫶🏾 Classmates wouldn't sign his yearbook. So older students stepped in.
Washington Post via Yahoo News
Cassandra Ridder was crushed when her 12-year-old son Brody came home from school last week with only a few signatures in his yearbook - including his own.
"Hope you make some more friends. - Brody Ridder," the rising seventh-grader wrote in his own yearbook, which was signed by only two classmates, two teachers and himself.
"It broke my heart," Ridder said.
"Hope you make some more friends. - Brody Ridder," the rising seventh-grader wrote in his own yearbook, which was signed by only two classmates, two teachers and himself.
"It broke my heart," Ridder said.
She shared a photo of her son's yearbook note in a private Facebook group for parents at the school. She felt angry and helpless, and while she did not ask for her son's permission before posting, "I knew he would be completely okay with it," she said. "Brody has always told me he wants to be part of the solution."
Her primary objective in posting the photo, Ridder explained, was to encourage parents to talk to their children about bullying. She said she's aware that some parents prefer to keep such matters private, but she thought that being forthright about it might help prevent her son and others from being targeted further.
Her primary objective in posting the photo, Ridder explained, was to encourage parents to talk to their children about bullying. She said she's aware that some parents prefer to keep such matters private, but she thought that being forthright about it might help prevent her son and others from being targeted further.
As dozens of compassionate comments poured in, several older students - none of whom previously knew Brody - heard about Ridder's post from their parents. They stepped up to show their support.
Joanna Cooper, 17, received a text message from her mother with a screenshot of Ridder's post. Right away, the 11th-grader decided, "I'm going to get people and we're going to sign his yearbook. No kid deserves to feel like that."
Joanna Cooper, 17, received a text message from her mother with a screenshot of Ridder's post. Right away, the 11th-grader decided, "I'm going to get people and we're going to sign his yearbook. No kid deserves to feel like that."
She contacted several friends and they coordinated to visit Brody's homeroom class together the following day. Little did she know at the time, but many other students were hatching the same plan.
When Simone Lightfoot, also an 11th-grader at the school, saw Ridder's post, her first thought was: "I'll get some of my friends and we'll go sign it," she said.
When Simone Lightfoot, also an 11th-grader at the school, saw Ridder's post, her first thought was: "I'll get some of my friends and we'll go sign it," she said.
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