Luke Getsom has turned years of bullying in the schoolyard in to a passionate campaign against bullying and cyberbullying.
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And in the next month he hopes to lead local schools to raise $10,000 to support the Dolly's Dream charity, which was set up in memory of Amy "Dolly" Everett who took her own life last year after an extended period of bullying and cyberbullying.
Luke, 17, has enlisted 10 local schools to hold a casual dress day on Wednesday May 1, which would have been Dolly's 16th birthday. Students will donate a gold coin toward the foundation.
And the challenge is on for more schools in Ballarat and Geelong to hold casual dress days during the month of May to help support the charity.
"We are setting up a challenge between Geelong schools and Ballarat schools to see who raises the most money per head," Luke said.
Gold Bus have offered a voucher for free travel as a prize to the winning school, while community groups have offered other prizes.
Luke was named Golden Plains Young Citizen of the Year for his work to help raise awareness and help end bullying and cyberbullying in schools, and he is using his platform to continue to get the message out about the impact of bullying.
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"I was bullied quite heavily in primary school, starting in kinder, and it went all the way up to year nine when I got sick of being bullied and stood up for myself more," the Piggoreet teen said.
"At the same time I noticed more and more that my friends were getting bullied as much as I was. I wanted to help them and make school better ... and try to make it easier for young students to get through."
He decided a casual dress day would be a simple first step to get schools on board with the foundation.
"We made the challenge to run any time within the month of May, but we've tried to get as many as we can for Wednesday because it was her birthday.
"Some schools have decided to go beyond just the casual clothes and and talk about bullying and cyber bullying and build some activities around the topic," he said.
On Wednesday, Luke will talk to the students at Sebastopol Primary School about his experiences with bullying.
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