Happening now
Catch a Connection
Fun Activity Helps Youth Engage with One Another The first weeks of school are filled with so many questions... Will I make friends? Will my old friends still be my friends? Will I like my teachers? Will my teachers like me? Will I find...
Inspired to End Social Isolation
I am so passionate about the important work I do with the Board at Beyond Differences. I joined the Beyond Differences National Teen Board in 9th grade after seeing the deep impact that Beyond Differences’ curriculum made on students through a program in my...
The Positive Power of Agency & Activism
My name is Paarth, and I’m from Kalamazoo, Michigan. I have been part of Beyond Differences since the start of my sophomore year in high school, and joined because I wanted to use my experiences as a middle school student who felt socially isolated to make positive...
How to Use Storytelling to Build Belonging
Storytelling has always been a way to share, engage, and entertain audiences, but it is also a very powerful tool to help students connect, make difficult conversations more approachable, and leave a lasting impression. Beyond Differences is harnessing the magic of...
Students Tackle Social Isolation as they Celebrate National No One Eats Alone® Day
— Lunchtime Initiative Creates a Culture of Belonging and Helps Students Plant New Connections On February 16, 2024, over a million students in more than 2,000 schools all over the country will initiate new connections and contribute to a culture of belonging as they...
Alysha Lee to Receive U.S. Surgeon General’s Medallion Award
Beyond Differences’ National Teen Board Member Alysha Lee will become the youngest person to ever receive the Surgeon General’s Medallion for Health Award. Alysha will be receiving this award for her work with Beyond Differences' Stand Up for AAPI Youth Project where...
Support LGBTQIA+ Students – Queer Visibility Curriculum Created by National Teen Board
Beyond Differences just released its featured curriculum on Queer Visibility written by members of its National Teen Board. This dedicated group of high school students created a rich curriculum for middle schools with compelling lessons that include: A history lesson...
No One Eats Alone Day® Celebrated Nationwide
More than a million students celebrated belonging and inclusion during national No One Eats Alone® Day. On February 17, thousands of schools across the country celebrated No One Eats Alone® Day. For 12 years in a row, educators and student leaders organized lunchtime...
Supporting Dallas Educators & Building Community – A Beyond Differences Initiative
Thanks to generous funding from the All Points North Foundation and the Louis L. Borick Foundation, Beyond Differences® launched its Dallas Educator Cohort in the Fall of 2022. As we continue to build on our relationships in Dallas and grow our Dallas Cohort, we look...
Four Ways to Support Youth After the Monterey Park Crisis
Following a crisis, educators should be prepared for additional trauma, trigger responses and questions coming into your classrooms the following morning. It is not unusual for students to act out, draw inward, and display displaced emotion in reaction to the news...