Sweethearts & Heroes brings hope, empathy message to Claremont students

Sweethearts & Heroes brought its H.O.P.E. message into Claremont schools as SAU 6 used a district-wide series of presentations to push empathy, anti-bullying, and suicide-prevention themes from elementary grades to Stevens High School. The effort also included a free community meet-and-greet at Key Chevrolet of Newport, underscoring that the outreach was aimed at students, families, and the broader school community.

The SAU 6 schedule called for a May 11, 2026 presentation at Stevens High School for all high school students and a May 12 visit to Disnard Elementary School for grades 3-5, with additional school stops in Claremont and Unity. The district said its mission is to inspire, engage, and empower every student in Claremont and Unity in a safe, positive, and personalized learning environment, and it says it prioritizes safety, equity and excellence in its decisions.

The presentations were built around the work of Tom Murphy and Sgt. Rick Yarosh, the team behind Sweethearts & Heroes. The organization says its K-12 assemblies are tailored by age, with early elementary students getting play-based content and bully drills, late elementary students learning how to recognize and intervene in bullying, and middle and high school students hearing messages focused on restoring empathy and taking action.

At the center of the program was H.O.P.E., which Sweethearts & Heroes says stands for Hold On, Possibilities Exist. The message is meant to push back against hopelessness, isolation and the kind of student suffering that can hide behind bullying or silence in the classroom. Yarosh has become one of the organization’s most visible voices, using his own recovery story to connect with students who may be struggling.

Sweethearts & Heroes identifies Yarosh as a retired U.S. Army sergeant and Purple Heart recipient. The group says he was deployed to Iraq in December 2005 and injured by an IED in Abu Ghraib on Sept. 1, 2006, suffering second- and third-degree burns over more than 60% of his body. He spent six months recovering at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

The Claremont visit also tied into Yarosh’s book, A Bridge Named Amos, which Sweethearts & Heroes says tells the true story of Amos, a black Labrador training to be a service dog, and the bond between the dog and Yarosh. The organization says the book is designed to help young readers embrace empathy and overcome challenges.

The district-wide schedule fit a larger pattern of school-climate work, not a one-off assembly. New Hampshire Department of Education guidance says the state’s bullying law treats protection from physical, emotional and psychological violence as a legislative priority, and state guidance encourages districts to develop anti-bullying policies with students, parents, staff, volunteers, community representatives and local law enforcement. Sweethearts & Heroes said in 2024 that it had reached more than 2.5 million students across the U.S. and Canada over more than 16 years, putting Claremont’s outreach in line with a broader effort to reach students before crisis takes root.