“I just wanted to send you a quick note to say you are a wonderful, impactful, and truly inspirational person. My fourth grader retold me two of your stories without taking a breath from start to finish. She was deeply impacted by your talk. My second grader also was able to tell me a whole story and throughout the day remembered key topics and phrases from your talk. I was there at St Theresa’s during your parent talk and I wanted to tell you how thankful I was for how much you taught my kids but I was trying to hold back tears the whole time from your talk with us parents and I thought that if I waited to tell you in person I’d probably just start crying (cue emotional mom trying her best but it’s hard raising three girls). Anyways. I wish you all the best and I’ll be emailing our principal to let her know I hope you visit our school often because we will all be better for it. God Bless.”
“Jodee's presentation was passionate and meaningful. Her engagement with our middle schoolers helped educate and bring her message closer to their hearts!”
" We invited Jodee to present INJJA, her anti-bullying presentation to our student body in an assembly. She also offered an after-school workshop/presentation for our staff. Jodee is a dynamic presenter. She is able to hold an audience of teens' attention for an extended period of time as she portrays, through her words and in her animation, the pain she experienced as a young victim of bullying. She delivered her experiences in a way that is timeless to all ages of listeners. Her delivery first draws to the surface emotion borne from either identification with, or empathy for those who are living with the very real pain of bullying abuse. Next, Jodee effectively leads her audience deeper into the inner world of the bully. Listeners are prompted to consider how traumatic events in someone’s life can cause brokenness and to find relief from that pain, make them hurt others as a release. After giving us a deeper understanding of how hurt people (the bullies) can cause innocent people (the victims) pain, and what it feels like to live with that pain, Jodee gave the staff, in the staff workshop, clear and helpful tools to use when working with students. We will definitely be inviting Jodee back again!"
“Jodee, thank you. I loved your visit, message, and vulnerability so much. As a child with anxiety myself, I appreciated how you spoke deeply about what that feels like…we have no frame of reference as children about what is normal to feel, to hear, to see, and to endure. Whatever our thoughts, whatever our mistreatment—all we know is that—this is normal for me—and it hurts. And I’m stuck. We have to give kids a voice while we are giving them tools—and you truly helped that process along, Jodee. Your work and ministry are profound. I am so grateful to you.”
“I'm so glad that I listened to you speak the other night. I'm the mom who came up to you afterwards to tell you about my son. Not only did you describe him to a T with the characteristics of a bullied kid but you definitely got through to him. He said, ‘Mom I hope you go and listen to that nice lady because she really knows about kids and what she said her bullies told her when she was my age is what my bully has said to me. It made me teary eyed.’ For my son to say that was huge!”
“Jodee’s engaging presence and relatable approach had everyone's attention throughout her presentation. Her powerful message talked about the importance of tolerance, compassion and forgiveness; and her personal stories of bullying helped the students relate to her message. Jodee is a true advocate for a more inclusive and compassionate world, and her presentations had an impact.”
“I am a sophomore in high school. You came to my school today. Your speech was extremely inspiring to me. I have been bullied too because I was different. For a while, I became the bully. I'm so thankful I had the opportunity to hear your story and I hope that you will continue to share it. You affect more kids than you will ever know, Thank you for everything you did for me in just one hour.”