For the past five years, the Greater West Bloomfield Community Coalition (GWBCC) has made a way for Kevin Szawala, also known as Mr. Peace, to hold impactful, motivational assemblies at each of West Bloomfield’s four elementary schools.

Szawala is a nationally recognized youth motivational speaker from Metro Detroit who specializes in bullying prevention, character education, student mental health, diversity and inclusion and social awareness.

With the generous support of West Bloomfield’s new Community Financial Credit Union (CFCU), Mr. Peace will be back at Doherty, Gretchko, Scotch and Sheiko elementaries this fall with his powerful, heart-focused messages of positivity and compassion.

“I am very thankful for our new partnership with CFCU and their interest in supporting us and our community,” said Lisa Berkey, executive director of the GWBCC. “Sponsoring Mr. Peace for all of our elementary schools is a wonderful way to kick off the new school year.”

Now, Mr. Peace speaks on seven different K-12 topics including bullying, diversity, positivity, leadership, respect, and most recently, perseverance and compassion.

Because of his continued partnership with the GWBCC and West Bloomfield School District, Mr. Peace has been able to build rapport with teachers, students and the community, allowing his message to keep growing year after year.

“I’m always trying to build on the previous visit, where we’ve already hit some initial momentum, and trying to take it a little deeper every time,” Szawala said, explaining that each assembly is heart-focused with an emphasis on the social and emotional learning component.

To make sure kids stay engaged and focused on the topic, Mr. Peace utilizes picture slides to reinforce his stories, physical props, visual aids, hip hop music and inspirational videos the students can relate to.

Last year, Mr. Peace spoke at 130 schools in 13 states, about 70 percent of which were repeat schools just like West Bloomfield, allowing him to build on the year before and transition into the next topic of his programming.

This method of teaching allows the Mr. Peace program and message to not just be “one and done” or to be a band-aid where students feel good for a moment but forget about the assembly a week later. It is designed to create meaningful change.

“I offer a lot of follow up with the fact that I can keep coming back again and again,” Szawala said. “I’m trying to have that four- or five-year relationship with the school so I have the potential to change a culture and climate.”

Szawala also explained that his messaging aligns with the mental health aspects that have been introduced to West Bloomfield students over the years by the GWBCC and the Alliance of Coalitions for Healthy Communities, helping to round out important education that helps kids grow from within.

Everything Mr. Peace speaks on is designed with the intention of hitting students at their heart level, not just being a cliché or anti-bullying acronym.

“They’re not going to care what you have to say until they know how much you care,” Szawala said.

For more information about the GWBCC, visit www.gwbcoalition.org. To learn more about Mr. Peace, visit www.mrpeace.org.