Blue Bombers celebrate anti-bullying work, encourage First Nations kids to try football in northern visit

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have geared up and headed tonorthern Manitoba this month, to giveFirst Nations youth a chance to try football and honour a student for her work intaking a stand against bullying.

Every March,players from the Winnipeg CFL team visit schools across the province to present theSamantha Mason Friendship Award,and talk with studentsaboutfosteringhealthy relationships and creating positive cultures in their schools.

Theaward, created in 2015,honours thememory of Samantha Mason, a15-year-old Winnipeg girlwho took her own life after being bullied for years inschool.

This year's awardswent to Ayub Farahof Winnipegand Isabel Carter of Thompson,who were selected to receive the award by Samantha's family.

"It was really surreal," said Isabel."I wasn't expecting it at all."

The Grade 12 student at Thompson's R.D. Parker Collegiate said she was shocked to learn that she had won the award, not knowing that members of the Blue Bombers team, includingbrothers Nick and Noah Hallett,had set up a presentation for her during a pep rally at her school last Tuesday.

"I just went thinking I was helping for a pep rally [but] I got pulled to the side to stand and wait for it to start," she said.

"Then all of a sudden they play this video, and then they called me up, and I was just standing there and just wasn't expecting it.It was really exciting, though," she said.

"All my friends were cheering for me, which was really fun to have."

Parents, teachers and coaches can nominate students for the annual anti-bullying award, which is presented to young people whoare taking action toeliminatebullying in their schools or communities.

The subjectis one Isabel feels very strongly about, and she says she hopes to continue doing her best to prevent it when crops up in her school.

"I have always grown up justto learn to love people and to be kind to everyone," she said.

"So when you see something happening that you know is wrongthen you don't want to stand for it, because some people just stand to the side.

"I can't accept that, personally."

Her parents, Laura and Tim, said they are proud of their daughter and the example that she is setting.

"It's nice to be recognized for being kind, because it's not something you mightget noticed for," said Laura.

"We are very excited to see our children living what we've taught them, in their school and their work," said Tim.

Visiting the north

In addition to their visit to Thompson, the Blue Bombers' tour of the north this month also includes stops inthree northern First Nations as a part of the CFL'sTryFootball initiative, which aimsto give young people who might not otherwise have theoption a chance to play the sport.

"We recognize the need for youth in those northern communities to [have] access tothis football equipment,"said Savannah Ginter,community relations co-ordinator for the Blue Bombers.

"Oftentimes, we would find out that a lot of communities, they play a lot of sports but thatfootball wasn't as accessible, because you need the flag football kits and you need the footballs themselves, and sometimes that can be hard to obtain," she said.

"So in an effort to kind of make that more accessible for the communities, we put together this initiative so that we cango visit them and really just make the kids feel special."

Members of the Blue Bombers organizationvisited Shamattawa First Nation this week, following their stop in Thompson.

They'll headNisichawayasihk Cree Nation (also known as Nelson House) on MondayandO-Pipon-Na-PiwinCree Nation on Wednesday.

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• Talk Suicide Canada: 1-833-456-4566 (phone) | 45645 (text between 4 p.m. and midnight ET).
• Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 (phone), live chat counselling on the website.
• Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre.
• This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.