Friday, October 9th 2015, is National Haunted House Day and October is also Anti-Bullying month.
To celebrate, the 13th Floor and Asylum Haunted Houses are donating a portion of sales on National Haunted House Day to their Don’t Be a Monster program to combat bullying.
Don’t Be A Monster currently partners with 13 haunted houses across the US to bring entertaining and engaging presentations to middle and high school students around the topic of anti-bullying. Their mission is to educate and empower youth to be leaders in their school around diversity, inclusiveness, and standing up for their friends and peers. They focus on the choices a student can make when it comes to bullying, and how these choices will impact their lives as well as the lives of those around them.
I recently had the opportunity to interview the Project Manager of Don’t Be a Monster, Erin Kelley, to get more info on this important cause.
Q: What is Don’t Be a Monster?
A: Don’t Be A Monster (DBAM) is a national nonprofit that organizes programs to raise awareness about bullying prevention in middle and high schools throughout the US. We partner with major haunted houses throughout the US (in Denver, we work with the 13th Floor Haunted House) to bring these programs either free or very low cost to students.
Q: Who does it benefit?
A: This program’s target audience is students in grades 4-10.
Q: How did this idea come about?
A: Don’t Be A Monster was founded in 2012 by Chris Stafford and Jon Love – partners with the 13th Floor Entertainment Group. They had found a lot of success in their professional endeavors and wanted to do something to give back to the community in a way that resonated with them and the clientele that they serve. Bullying prevention was an obvious choice for them.
Q: How will the money raised get distributed?
A: The money raised goes directly back into the planning of the program to make it better each year. We use it to build more robust presentations, to film supplemental videos and documentaries (like our Be The One video series we’re currently releasing weekly on Wednesdays through our Facebook and YouTube), and to make sure Don’t Be A Monster is functioning with the highest quality of staff. We also use funds raised to travel to conventions like TransWorld, where we host our annual silent auction to raise awareness and additional funds to continue moving the program forward.
Q: Does this cause have a personal meaning for you?
A: Everyone that is interested in working with Don’t Be A Monster has a personal story to share. Here is a video of mine:
Q: Anything else you would like to share?
A: This year we are working in 14 cities throughout the US and are on track to visit hundreds of schools!
Happy National Haunted House Day and don’t forget…. Don’t Be a Monster!
National Haunted House Day Benefiting Don’t Be A Monster
Friday, October 9th 2015; 7pm – 12am
13th Floor Haunted House, 4120 Brighton Blvd, Denver 80216
Asylum Haunted House, 6100 E 39th Ave, Denver 80207