New Milford Teen Fights Bullying

A New Milford teen is making  difference through community work and anti-bullying efforts.

Ally Del Monte, 14, was selling lemonade when NBC Connecticut met her last year. She was fund raising to help the families devastated by a deadly home explosion in New Milford.

“I just felt that we needed to step up as a community and help them,” said Del Monte.

Pitching in, is what Del Monte often does when she sees need. As an avid animal lover, Del Monte wrote and illustrated the children’s book, “Lilly’s Story,” about an abused dog at a puppy mill. Proceeds from the book benefit neglected animals.

“[The money goes] to all different animal shelters,” she said.

Del Monte might be an accomplished author at a very young age, but like most teens, she has also dealt with bullying. For years, Del Monte was taunted over her weight.

“They kept telling me to kill myself, that I didn’t matter…that I should self-harm…that no one would care if I was gone,” Del Monte said.

Finally, she decided to take a stand and reach out to others in her situation.

“I felt like an outcast, and then I went online and I saw a bunch of other people felt like that. They were getting bullied and picked on. It felt like no one was there for them and I wanted them to know there was someone else out there that knew how they felt.”

Del Monte set up a blog called losergurl.com to help teens cope with bullying. Through her site, she’s reaching teens across the country who are struggling with depression as a result of bullying.

“They’ve told me that I’ve helped them not commit suicide…stopped them from self-harm.”

Her anti-bullying efforts are something Del Monte feels good about and hopes to continue.

“You can make a difference and a lot of people don’t believe that they can. But all it takes is a little thing and you can make a big difference and help lots of people.”

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