Desiree Cornet-Wile (centre) was all smiles while presenting students from Winston Churchill School with $30 gift cards to Michaels after her non-profit, Mothers Against Bullying, held a colouring contest for students at the school. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
Desiree Cornet-Wile, founder of Mothers Against Bullying, better known in the community as M.A.B, was recently at Winston Churchill School to spread her message, “Be a buddy, not a bully,” while also surprising some talented students with prizes from a colouring contest the non-profit held.
“We have just given out the prizes for our first colouring contest here at Winston Churchill School,” said Cornet-Wile.
“My M.A.B crew wanted me to pick two kids, which was absolutely impossible because we had roughly 800 entries and they were all great, so we picked six.
“We prized each of the six with $30 gift cards to Michaels, because who doesn’t like to craft, and two major winners got pizza parties for their class.”
M.A.B came to fruition after Cornet-Wile tragically lost her son, Jayden, to suicide in 2019 after he endured severe bullying.
Since the loss of her son, Cornet-Wile has been advocating for kids in the fight against bullying so no mother has to go through what she did.
“This colouring contest was just to let the kids know that we’re here and that they have a small army behind them,” she said.
“Nobody is alone and everybody needs to speak out, and mainly, be a buddy, not a bully.”
Since the early days of M.A.B, Cornet-Wile has been making the rounds in the community to ensure kids know who she is and what she is all about. Through her community involvement, she explained she now gets recognized while out in public.
“It’s really neat,” she said. “I’ve kind of become a rockstar because now when I’m out in the community, kids will want to come up to me and say ‘I saw you in the paper, you’re that girl from the paper!’ And I’m always saying ‘yes, I’m here for you, make sure you’re being a buddy, not a bully, and make sure you help kids; and have fun.’”
Cornet-Wile also explained M.A.B is open to everyone, and it’s all about keeping kids safe.
“If you know a mom, have a mom, or are a mom, you’re more than welcome to get involved, and that means everybody,” she said.
“The world gets lost with technology, so I’m saying ‘hey, we’re here, this is a friendly face. I dress crazy, my hair is crazy, and I make sure kids know me out in public, so that if anything happens, they’re going to feel comfortable coming to me if they or one of their friends needs help. It’s really important that we teach kids to reach out.”
