WHEN Amy Jayne Everett, 14, affectionately known as \u201cDolly\u201d took her own life in January, Australia acknowledged it was in the grips of a bullying epidemic.<\/p>\n
Father of the Northern Territory teen, Tick Everett, said his daughter (the former face of Akubra) had been so badly cyber-bullied she\u2019d felt there was no other way out. Now two young girls from Drysdale are hoping to spare others the same anguish.<\/p>\n
Mackenzie Duffy, 11, and Skye McCormack, 12, came up with the idea of using their own social media platform, \u201cDance Nerdz\u201d, to send a message of hope and with the help of their parents, filmed a touching dance tribute that\u2019s already received thousands of hits on YouTube.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe girls were reading about Dolly\u2019s story and approached me and said they wanted to do something about it using dance,\u201d Carol Duffy (Mackenzie\u2019s mum) said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMyself and Skye\u2019s mum Jaimie, approached Dolly\u2019s family through her foundation page asking for permission and the family were really touched and honoured by it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Duffy said the girls took two days to choreograph the routine and once it was complete, sent a final cut through to the Everett family before they published it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to make sure they were happy with it and they loved it, the girls have a really good following and I\u2019m very proud of them for using it to spread a positive message,\u201d Ms Duffy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve received so many messages from other kids saying thank you and that it means the world to them that the girls are there for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mackenzie said dance changed her life and when she heard about Dolly\u2019s story, felt greatly affected by the tragedy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe (Skye and I) wanted everyone to know that bullying is never okay and that no one should feel like there\u2019s no way out and that they can\u2019t speak to anyone,\u201d Mackenzie said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen and experienced bullying before and dance is a good way to get out of whatever head space you\u2019re in. You can dance and be yourself and express your feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Skye said their video had received an amazing response and they wanted to continue spreading Dolly\u2019s final message.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to inspire people and let them know they\u2019re not alone and there\u2019s always help out there, in the words of Dolly, \u2018speak even if your voice shakes\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WHEN Amy Jayne Everett, 14, affectionately known as \u201cDolly\u201d took her own life in January, Australia acknowledged it was in the grips of a bullying epidemic. Father of the Northern Territory teen, Tick Everett, said his daughter (the former face of Akubra) had been so badly cyber-bullied she\u2019d felt there was no other way out. […]<\/p>\n