HAMPTON, Va. — Shant'a Miller, a mother of three, said she'll never forget the day in 2012 her 11-year-old daughter was attacked on the school bus by a 14-year-old bully.
"I had flashbacks of running home with my daughter in my arms, and she was seizing that day while I was running home with her off of that school bus."
"She put her in a headlock and began to punch her," Miller said. "My daughter says she remembers only being able to try to tuck herself under the chair of the bus. Well, the girl kicked my daughter in the head for a total of seventeen minutes on the bus."
As a mom, Miller felt a range of emotions. Among them was the pain of not being there to protect her little girl.
"I could've saved her from this hurt. I couldn't imagine going through that," Miller said. "Why couldn't I have been there to help her? Why didn't somebody help her?"
But Miller decided there was something more she could do. She founded the nonprofit organization 'Parents Against Bullying Virginia' to empower and educated families and communities.
"I have to share the seventeen minutes that changed our lives to let these youth know that seventeen minutes could change your whole life," Miller said.
Through workshops, mentoring sessions, school visits, and other events, Miller and her team of volunteers are committed to spreading awareness of and putting an end to bullying.
"We don't stop," Miller said. "This not just during school time. This is three hundred sixty-five days a year."
Miller said she does it all to keep the next child from what her daughter had to live through. "She still gets teary-eyed, the one who was attacked, still gets teary-eyed about, you know, 'Why me?'" Miller said. "But I'm able to share it with others to help and possibly save someone else."
'Parents Against Bullying Virginia' is looking for more sponsors, partners, and volunteers. The organization is especially in need of donations. For more information, visit https://www.pabva.com/.