NEW BERLIN –– An amazing duo of superheroes without capes will descend upon New Berlin to show students and educators how they can spread HOPE (Hold On, Possibilities Exist) in their classrooms and beyond.

Tom Murphy and Rick Yarosh of Sweethearts & Heroes, will be in the Unadilla Valley Central School District on Monday, February 5 and Tuesday, February 6. Sweethearts & Heroes is a student empowerment and empathy activation team that aims to prevent bullying and suicide with a focus on the basic components of social-emotional learning (SEL).

Sweethearts & Heroes offers a profound, engaging signature presentation that calls for HOPE, Empathy, and Action; Circle, which is built on the ancient ritual of communicating in a circle to build empathy; and BRAVE Buddies, which trains older students in bully drills that they, in turn, teach to students in lower grades.

The Sweethearts & Heroes team consists of Director and Founder Tom Murphy, of St. Albans, VT; Ret. U.S. Army Sgt. Rick Yarosh, a HOPE expert and motivational speaker from New York who was burned severely while serving in Iraq; and Pat Fish, BRAVE and Circle Leader.

While in the Unadilla Valley CSD, Murphy and Yarosh will follow this tentative schedule:

Monday, February 5:

8:30 a.m. — Grades K-2 Assembly

9:35 a.m. — Grades 3-6 Assembly

12:15 p.m. — Grades 7-12 Assembly

2:15 p.m. — 6th Grade Circle

3:10 p.m. — Staff Wrap-up

Tuesday, Feb. 6: Yarosh will conduct Q&A sessions with students, while Murphy leads Circles.

“I have had the opportunity to work with Tom and Rick three times over the past eight years in other school districts,” said Unadilla Valley Jr/Sr High School Principal Brendan Coyle. “I am so excited to reconnect with them and bring them to Unadilla Valley. Their message and strategies will be so well received by our students and staff, and I anticipate their positive impacts will be felt immediately.”

Murphy said, “We’re coming to New Berlin to cultivate compassion and empathy. We aim to stop students from making destructive decisions and help them treat each other with kindness. We also make our messages sustainable in schools, so that they have an eventual and sustainable impact on the local community. The spiderweb effect is powerful and incredible.”

To ensure this sustainability, Sweethearts & Heroes created The HOPE Classroom, a digital subscription service designed for various grade levels and different school sizes. This value-packed offering can allow Sweethearts & Heroes to be in every school in the U.S.

For more information visit thehopeclassroom.com.

For more than 16 years, Sweethearts & Heroes has presented what Murphy calls “‘the ‘stop, drop, and roll’ of bullying” to more than 2.5 million students in school districts from New England to Hawaii and north into Canada. Sweethearts & Heroes also tailors its presentations and workshops for businesses, non-profits, and civic groups.

Murphy said, “We go where we’re needed. That’s what heroes do.”

In 2021, Sweethearts & Heroes released "13 Pillows For Affective Teachers," a novel that covers the themes of HOPE, Empathy, and Action in the Sweethearts & Heroes curriculum. "13 Pillows" is based on real students and teachers that Sweethearts & Heroes has encountered. Murphy cowrote the book with Brian McKeon, of New York.

"13 Pillows" is available on Amazon. Digital or printed copies are available upon request. The audiobook is on Audible. For more information, visit the 13 Pillows Facebook page.

For more information on Sweethearts & Heroes, visit: sweetheartsandheroes.com.

-Information provided by Sweethearts & Heroes