The University of Toronto and the Varsity Blues program proudly partnered with the Toronto Argonauts Football Club to host the 11th annual Huddle Up Bullying Prevention Program, May 8-9, at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.

Varsity Blues football players Aaron Milton and Christopher Johnson, as well as men’s basketball players Alex Hill, Dakota Laurin and Adam Plummer joined Toronto Argonauts players and cheerleaders as ambassadors to over 250 students and teachers that shared ideas to help keep their schools safe from bullying behaviour.

The Huddle Up Bullying Prevention Program uses the personal stories of the mentors to encourage friendship and inclusion, and reduce or eradicate bullying at both the elementary and high school level. Annually, the Huddle Up program reaches close to 30,000 students, and 700 of their parents with an impactful message that was developed in conjunction with the Canadian Safe School Network.

These symposiums are a precursor to the June 19 pre-season Argos game against the Montreal Alouettes. Kickoff has been changed to noon, allowing for a special end-of-year field trip for students from various school boards in the GTA to celebrate student success. Well over 20,000 students are confirmed to attend and information from the Huddle Up Bullying Prevention Program will be incorporated into the game.

Over the last decade, Huddle Up has reached over 250,000 students across the GTA ranging in age from 8-18. In their 11th year, the Argos Huddle Up Bullying Prevention Program continues to be a front runner within schools in raising awareness on bullying and taking steps to prevent bullying.

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