TAMPA, Fla. — Families in the Hillsborough County School District have until the end of the weekend to submit nominations for the annual Anti-Bullying Recognition Award.

Submissions are due by Sunday, June 30.

The county will recognize a student or group for their outstanding efforts to stop bullying in the community.

What You Need To Know

  • Hillsborough County is accepting nomiations for its Anti-Bullying Recognition Award until June 30 

  • The student recognized last year is Blakely Stuntz from Tampa Palms Elementary School 

  • Stuntz started an anti-bullying club at her school and says she's seen positive results

Spectrum Bay News 9 met with last year’s award recipient, Blakely Stuntz, who is feeling good about her efforts in school last year.

Stuntz is busy this summer. From balancing ballet to summer coding classes, the upcoming fourth-grader at Tampa Palms Elementary is also working on another passion project too.

She continues to bring awareness to other students in her community with her anti-bullying club.

“Over the summer, I have been making a toolkit to give out to other kids so they can start doing it and start a little summer version of the club,” Stuntz said.

Last school year, she started an anti-bullying club.

Hillsborough Schools and officials in the county government took notice and recognized her with a special award.

This summer, Stuntz is taking every opportunity to spread her message to others with the help of her biggest advocates.

Stuntz even shared with her fellow ballet students of the New Tampa Dance Theatre and students at The Coder School in New Tampa where her school principal also showed up.

“So not only did you impact everyone at our school,” Tampa Palms Principal Angela Gluth said to Stuntz. “But now, it’s going way beyond that.”

She counseled Stuntz on how to start it and what they should do to get their message out.

Gluth is now counseling her over the summer while classes are out to take the message beyond her New Tampa community.

“What was really great was that this was so student driven that we see such a huge impact when it comes to ideas generated from the children themselves. And we definitely wanted to give the opportunity to promote that,” Gluth said about Stuntz’s efforts.

Her mom, Natalie, is proud of her daughter and feeling good about her mission.

“I think if there’s anything the world needs right now is more kindness,” Natalie said. “And it’s so cool that it just comes from the heart that she wants to make everybody included and loved.”

Stuntz is also feeling good about the results so far of taking a stance against bullying behavior​.

“I’ve been seeing less and less (bullying). I’ve been seeing more standing up to it,” she said. “I’ve been seeing a lot of good stuff happening from when I started the club. It makes me feel so awesome that we’re making a difference.”

That kind of kindness is contagious for others to follow.

Gluth said Stuntz inspired and motivated more of her classmates to get involved at Tampa Palms Elementary as well.

A Coding Club is starting up, as well as a Reading and Drawing Club inspired by Stuntz’s efforts.