Brodus Clay & Kaitlyn spread the word to stop bullying and be a STAR.

STAMFORD, Conn. — WWE, The Creative Coalition and The Rotary Club of Stamford hosted a special be a STAR anti-bullying rally at Westover Elementary School Thursday night!

Divas Champion Kaitlyn, Brodus Clay and announcer Josh Mathews hosted the special event, which featured an anti-bullying rally for WWE Universe members of all ages, as well as a silent auction benefiting The Rotary Club of Stamford. Auction items included tickets to the March 15 WWE Live Event in Bridgeport, Conn., tours of WWE headquarters, a WWE Championship replica title and more. ( PHOTOS)

Other special guests included The Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk; Clinical Director at Child Guidance Center Dr. Larry Rosenberg; Stand Up to Bullying President Michael Dreiblat; Clinical Director at Kids in Crisis Kimberly Lisack; and Dr. Bob Goldman of the Rotary Club. Also in attendance were representatives from Stamford’s Turn of River Middle School for Rachel’s Challenge Program.

The Superstars and other honored guests talked to the WWE Universe about the different forms of bullying, such as cyber, physical and verbal, and encouraged everyone in attendance to be a STAR by not being bystanders and by standing up to bullies.

“Bullying is not just something that happens as part of growing up,” Clay said. “Bystanders are sometimes the gasoline in the fire. It’s just as bad if you ignore bullying.”

The speakers shared personal stories about being bullied. The Funkasaurus led the audience in the be a STAR Pledge and encouraged the children and parents to download the anti-bullying materials and tools available from the be a STAR Alliance. 

Kaitlyn, who was proud to take part in her first be a STAR rally, shared a story about how bullying has affected her family. Her brother, who is much shorter than her, once told the Diva he was upset that she laughed at a joke about his height. It’s a moment she wishes she could take back.

“Looking back, I wish I hadn’t just been a bystander and that I stood up for him,” the Divas Champion said. “You can speak up. You can make a difference.”

One out of every four children is bullied, and a child is bullied every seven minutes. Through WWE and The Creative Coalition’s campaign, children around the globe are encouraged to “be a STAR: Show.Tolerance.And.Respect.”

For more than a year and a half, WWE Superstars and Divas have visited more than 40 schools to spread the be a STAR message, affecting 20,000-plus children! This is in addition to the 25,000 people who have taken the be a STAR pledge online at beastaralliance.org.

Be a STAR is made up of more than 50 alliance partners, including Scholastic Inc., YMCA of America, Girl Scouts of America, GLAAD, RAINN and STOMP Out Bullying. For more information, visit beastaralliance.org, the be a STAR Facebook page and on Twitter @beastaralliance. Also, log on to beastaralliance.org to take the official be a STAR pledge and to download a free be a STAR teacher’s aide and be a STAR toolkit to start your own local chapter.