BELTON, Mo. — Safe Fleet has selected the winners of the 2016 United Against Bullying Grant.

The program is the national social campaign of Safe Fleet, a provider of safety solutions for school buses and other fleet vehicles. This year, the company donated $55,000 to applicants who presented the best strategies to stop bullying and inspire kindness in their communities.

School districts and organizations working with youth were invited to plan an anti-bullying project and apply for a grant from Feb. 24, the official Pink Shirt Day, to June 30. More than 100 applications — almost double the number in 2015 — were submitted to Safe Fleet from North American school districts, school transportation departments, and nonprofit entities.

The applicants’ objectives included the creation of new anti-bullying awareness and kindness projects, expansion of existing programs, positive behavior recognition, school bus driver training, and purchasing school bus equipment to help reduce bullying incidents.

“It was inspiring to receive so many initiatives empowering students to be kind and compassionate, and to stand up to bullying,” said John R. Knox, president and CEO of Safe Fleet. “Many proposals were well-detailed and inspiring, making the selections difficult. United by the cause, we applaud every community for every action taken to keep kids safe and happy.”

The 2016 United Against Bullying Grant winners are:

Anglophone South School District, New Brunswick
Brainerd Public Schools, Minnesota
Connellsville Area School District, Pennsylvania
Crossroads Youth Center’s Unite Against Bullying ME Project, Maine
Duncan Public Schools, Oklahoma
Florence Independent School District, Texas
Flowing Wells Unified School District 8, Arizona
Fulton County Schools, Georgia
Isle of Wight County Schools, Virginia
KWRL Transportation Cooperative, Washington
Lafayette County School District, Arkansas
Leon County Schools, Florida
Lewiston-Porter Central School District, New York
Maryvale Union Free School District, New York
Norristown Area School District, Pennsylvania
Palmer River Elementary School, Massachusetts
Plum Borough School District, Pennsylvania
Prince George’s County Public Schools, Maryland
Round Valley Unified School District #10
Shanksville-Stonycreek School District, Pennsylvania
Somerset Independent Schools, Kentucky
St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic School Division, Alberta
Stafford Township School District, New Jersey
Stepping Stones Mental Health and Counseling Inc., Maine
Three Village Central School District, New York
Weller Health Education Center, Pennsylvania

Safe Fleet’s annual United Against Bullying Grant program will re-open to school communities and organizations working with youth next year. For more information about the program, go to unitedagainstbullying.net.