Bullying doesn't only affect schools, but entire communities as well. With children as a vital part of any community's future, some have begun to explore anti-bullying solutions and help bring an end to violence both in schools and the surrounding areas.

According to the Buffalo Grove Countryside, community leaders in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, are taking a stand against bullying in their town. Rick Herrejon, principle of the Longfellow Elementary School, and Mike Terson, a town trustee, recently announced that they are going to discover what keeps bullying around, and determine how to squash it.

"We are under no illusion that this is not a giant task," Herrejon told the news source. "There’s so many pieces that need to come into place. We’re going to try to move forward, but not rush the process of figuring out what this is going to look like, sound like and feel like."

The two officials decided to lobby against bullying in their town after a lunch meeting in June. As principal of a school, Herrejon said that he sees the effects of bullying every day. Both said that they feel it is their job to reduce bullying in their area and teach youths how to stop a bully. According to the news source, the two compared their efforts to the movement to reduce smoking in public spaces.

In other parts of the country, such as Newton, North Carolina, the public has begun to recognize the importance of putting an end to bullying as well. According to the Hickory Daily Report, a recent study in Newton highlighted bullying activities as a primary area in need of improvement.

The survey gathered responses from students at local schools. While 72 percent of students, the majority of whom were seniors, said that they feel safe in their respective schools, only 50 percent agreed that their school was safe from intimidation, bullying and harassment.

For schools looking to reduce bullying statistics and help students feel safe within the learning environment, uTip, the "Bully Buster," provides a useful tool that allows students to report bullying safely. uTip lets those who witness bullying to report it anonymously through text messages to school officials, who can then investigate and take proper action.