MARCH 16 will see and Beaudesert parents and residents stand up and take steps against bullying as they join in the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence.
The group will meet at 9am at Jubilee Park and march up Albert Street as far as the police station and then back to the park.
Organiser Belinda Wallbank said she was passionate about the issue because she herself had been bullied and had also had to watch her daughters go through the ongoing misery of bullying.
“The resources in Beaudesert to cope with bullying aren’t good enough to deal with the scope of the problem,” she said.
“I did reach out for help but the support services in town were at capacity so I ended up having to go to Jimboomba to get help for my family.”
Ms Wallbank said she had started a Facebook page called Parents Against Bullying Beaudesert and was surprised at how prevalent bullying seems to be.
“We had 320 members within a couple of weeks, and it wasn’t just kids bullying – parents are getting involved in the harrassment,” she said.
“There are people in Beaudesert homeschooling their children because of bullying and that is not good enough.
“They shouldn’t have had to take their kids out of school just to keep them safe.
“It’s time for us as a community to say no to bad behaviour and the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence is a good time to get started.
“We will have a peaceful walk accompanied by local police and emergency services and we would love the locals to wear orange and join us on the day.”
Jimboomba resident and mother of two Simone Tatters said she would be coming to Beaudesert for the march.
“I hope other parents from Jimboomba and surrounding suburbs will come along too,” she said.
“We don’t really have anything like this happening in our area.”
Ms Wallbank said local radio station Rebel FM would be providing the music for the walk, with representatives from Mununjali House, the Flagstone Phoenix Brothers Football Club and other community organisations planning on attending.