Bullied Bus Monitor Starts Anti-Bullying Foundation
Remember Karen Klein, the bullied bus monitor who ended up over $700,000 richer in a viral fundraising campaign? She’s back, and she’s decided what to do with all that money.
After the final tally of $703,873 came in for a fundraising campaign that was originally intended to send the 68-year-old on vacation, many argued over what Klein should do with the money. Some felt that the amount of money raised was unreasonable and unfair given the number of other bullying victims, and that the grandmother should donate it all to anti-bullying charities. Others felt that since the money was willingly donated to the campaign, Karen deserved it and should keep the cash.
In the end, Klein decided to do a bit of both. The woman who was filmed as middle-schoolers suggested that she was ‘so ugly, her children should kill themselves’ has used the money to retire and care for her family. She has also put aside $100,000 to found the Karen Klein Anti-Bullying Foundation.
“I thought it would be a great idea, and I’m hoping this foundation will seriously help all these kids,’’ the ‘bullied bus monitor’ said in an interview with Today.com. “It’s also not just kids. When you’re a kid being bullied, you should talk to an adult. When the adult is being bullied, I don’t know who the heck they can talk to. That’s why I want to help.’’
Klein will be teaming up with a number of anti-bullying advocates to tour the country, spreading a message of tolerance and suicide prevention. The foundation plans to collect donations for anti-bullying initiatives, create anti-bullying curriculum for school, and support other anti-bullying organizations.
It’s nice to see such a happy ending to a sad story!
