Honeoye students will begin their fourth annual Day of Caring with an anti-bullying and hope-focused presentation before heading into service projects across the school district and community Friday, Oct. 2.
Tom Murphy and Rick Yarosh of Sweethearts & Heroes are scheduled to deliver the 8 a.m. keynote, according to an advisory from the organization that lists a Honeoye Central School District contact. Students in all grades will then volunteer, beautify public spaces and take part in projects on school grounds.
The presentation will center on what the group calls HOPE — “Hold On, Possibilities Exist” — along with empathy and taking action to help people who are isolated or treated as different. October is National Bullying Prevention Month.
“We don’t just want students to sit and listen to a presentation about what bullying or hopelessness looks like — we want them to realize they already have the ‘superpowers’ to change the culture around them,” Murphy said in the advisory.
Murphy, the group’s founder, and Yarosh, a Purple Heart recipient and motivational speaker who was severely burned while serving in Iraq, previously brought an anti-bullying assembly to Honeoye students in 2019 and 2024. Their return will serve as the kickoff for this year’s districtwide service day.
Sweethearts & Heroes presents school programs focused on bullying, hopelessness and the interpersonal skills it says can strengthen a school community, including compassion and teamwork. The organization says it has reached nearly 3 million students over more than 17 years, and it also offers workshops for businesses, nonprofits and civic groups.
The advisory describes the Day of Caring as an opportunity for students to put the keynote’s message into practice by volunteering and improving shared spaces. It does not identify specific service-project locations or say the school assembly is open to the public.
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