Heartfelt support brings gifts, a better life for bullied Turlock 8th-grader

A bullied Turlock eighth-grader who contemplated suicide earlier this year has a new start in a new school and a lot to look forward to thanks to an outpouring of community support.

“No way!” was the reaction of a nearly speechless Breanna Mendoza, 14, on Wednesday night as Modesto businessman Craig Day unveiled gift after gift from local businesses. All will contribute to a magical Aug. 15, when Breanna and family travel in style to a Taylor Swift concert at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, the tickets donated by Day.

The day will start with picking out a free new outfit from Envy Fine Clothing in Turlock, Day told her. Aqua Bliss owner Erin Doran gave Breanna flowers and a hug along with the news she will be getting hair and makeup done by the downtown Modesto spa. A stop at Skip’s Music will add a guitar and free lessons to the mix.

Then it’s off to dinner with the family at Rivets American Grill. Head chef Juan Tostado asked about Breanna’s favorite dish, and manager Nena Williams pledged to make anything she wanted. Full and fabulously decked out, Breanna and entourage will head to Santa Clara in a donated limo ride, with the entire evening captured in a scrapbook to keep, thanks to Laura Mooney of Best Days of Your Life Photography.

“Please tell me I’m not being ‘Pranked’ here!” a stunned Breanna said, referring to the MTV series, before giving her widest smile, thank-yous and hugs to everyone.

“There’s a catch. You gotta make a promise,” Day told her. “You have to promise to always believe, and never forget, what I’m going to tell you.”

Kneeling on one knee, Day continued, “You’re going to do amazing things, because you inspire people, you bring out the best in people.

“Now, there’s going to be times in your life – and I know you already know this – when some people are going to try to knock you down. But there’s a whole army of folks who’ve got your back, and are going to pick you back up,” he said.

A T-shirt with that philosophy, headlined The Breanna Project, was his final gift to her.

Day worked for weeks to put the special day together after seeing Breanna’s story via Facebook. “Essentially, she had a story floating around in social media, and I thought, ‘That’s really crappy what someone has done to her. Somebody should do something nice for her,’ ” he said. Some extra Taylor Swift tickets he and son Jordan would not be using got him thinking.

The outpouring of support, including a mass friending on Breanna’s Facebook page on Wednesday, is not the typical response to a young teen’s accusations of bullying. More typical is what Brianna faced after telling adults at Dutcher Middle School about mean social media posts by classmates. The adults said they would investigate, and the accused teens sent her what the family took to be threats of revenge.

Turlock Unified School District did not respond to requests from The Bee for information, or a copy of the district statement sent to Channel 10 news. A portion of the response included in the original April 14 broadcast said the district was investigating the allegations and waiting for a response from the Mendozas.

“Following receipt of this information and closure to the findings, all students involved will receive the appropriate consequences and counseling series and alternative placements if necessary,” the statement said.

Breanna has a rare birth defect known as Goldenhar syndrome that causes facial deformities. Any strike to the face could potentially impair her ability to breathe, mother Wendy Mendoza said, making the bullying threats very frightening.

The family home-schooled Breanna after she was bullied in elementary school, the same school her father, Miguel Mendoza, said he went to. Breanna wanted to return to school, however, and for eighth grade her parents enrolled her in Dutcher, where she was placed in a special education class.

Soon afterward, the bullying started.

After Breanna’s story appeared on newscasts in April, however, comforting messages and offers of help poured in. “They’d say ‘Hi’ to her, ‘You saved my life.’ They decided not to take their life because of her. Her spirits went from zero to 100,” Miguel Mendoza said.

A generous donation paid Breanna’s tuition for Turlock Christian School, where she is now enrolled in regular classes and feels accepted and liked, her dad said. Another donor paid for private tutoring, with an early report predicting she would be doing schoolwork nearly at grade level by summer’s end.

“Now the sky’s the limit for her,” Miguel Mendoza said. “It’s been amazing.”

This story was originally published May 28, 2015 at 5:45 PM with the headline "Heartfelt support brings gifts, a better life for bullied Turlock 8th-grader."