Why just wearing pink is NOT enough!

Imagine you are a victim of bullying. Every day you go to school, and a group of three people make your day a living hell. They shoot spitballs at you in class. They call you “Ginger Kid” because your hair is red. They arrogantly write “Ginger” on your locker door as if it was your name and post pictures of famous red haired people all over it. To you, the joke was not the slightest bit funny right away; to them, it seems as though it will never grow old.

This happens each and every day, and no one says anything. You know people see it, but no one says or does anything. You assume no one thinks it’s a big deal. After all, it’s not like you’re getting beat up. There are no bruises to show, or bones to cast. You constantly try to convince yourself that it’s not as bad as it seems and you should just be happy they’re not physically hurting you.

Your school has a strict “No Bullying” policy. Everyone says they’re against bullying, but no one seems to notice that you’re suffering. Last Wednesday was “Pink Shirt Day”. Everyone showed up to school wearing a pink shirt to say they were against bullying. There were activities throughout the day meant to make people more aware of bullying. You guidance counselor, Mr. Evans, had everyone stand in a line at the back of the gym. He asked for everyone who had ever been called a name to take a step forward. Then he asked for everyone who had ever felt left out from something they should have been included in to take a step forward. He asked for everyone to take a step forward who had been hurt after being at the brunt end of a joke. He continued this through a variety of situations that could be considered “bullying” until everyone had walked at least to center court.

The whole day passed, and you weren’t bullied once. You noticed that your bullies had pink shirts on too, and hoped that they were having a change of heart. You went home feeling a little more optimistic.

The next day, you arrived to school to find a pink shirt hanging on your locker with a name tag attached to it saying “Ginger Kid”. You decided to tell your teacher, and they take all of the bullies into a room. Your teacher asks you to come into the room after speaking with them. They each apologize for calling you “Ginger Kid” with a sarcastic look on their faces. You know you’ve made a mistake. Things get progressively worse. The “Ginger” comments are replaced with passing elbows and body checks. The spit balls get out of hand and you start finding little pieces of spit covered paper in your hair at night.

Your peers still don’t get involved. When they do see it happening, they give you a sad look like they feel bad for you. Why doesn’t someone do something to help you?

When you arrive at school, you hear a PA announcement asking everyone to gather for an assembly. When you arrive at the assembly, there are tables set up everywhere full of pink shirts and markers. You are seated on the floor and watch a DVD presentation from this guy who started something called “International STAND UP to Bullying Day”. He explains how the day works, and says that each shirt has a pledge on the back of it. He tells you that everyone who signs this pledge, and wears the shirt is someone who thinks bullying is wrong and WANTS to help you. They actually want you to go to them for help, and they think the bullies are jerks for what they’re doing. He tells you about this website his organization runs where students can report bullying to their counselor without having to stick their noises into someone elses situation if they’re afraid to. He tells everyone that signing and wearing the shirt is a serious commitment and they shouldn’t do it unless they absolutely will promise to help anyone who comes to them for it. The guy giving the presentation is young, and says he never actually got bullied himself, but always wanted to help people…he just didn’t know if it was wanted or not. He says he started the day to give people like himself a way to tell people they want to help, but want to know that it’s OK to do so beforehand. He tells you about how his organization is all young guys and girls who travel around trying to make people realize that standing up to bullying is a cool thing to do that actually makes you MORE popular in school.

The presentation is followed by pictures and video of people all across the world who have signed and wear the pledge shirts. Maybe people DO care!? It really is a huge thing! You notice after the presentation that a few guys from the football team sign a shirt and wear it. They’re usually really nice to you so you make a mental note that you can go to them for help when/if the Ginger comments start back up.

You show up at school the next day and the Pink Shirt is on your locker with the name tag. Instead of going to your teacher, you go to the guys from the team at lunch. You explain to them what’s going on and they tell you not to worry about it anymore. You ask them what they’re going to do, and they say they will explain to them that what they’re doing is not cool and it will not be tolerated. No fighting, no revenge, just tell them to stop it.

This time you don’t get an apology. In fact, you don’t get anything from the bullies. They completely stay away from you for a while and then eventually start treating you like everyone else. They're not suspended from school, their parents aren't called, they just are told from some cool guys that they need to smarten up or they're not going to be getting along with anyone else at the school. See the difference?

Our STAND UP Pledge Shirts are designed to work. They're made to appeal to the people who need to wear them, and send a clear message. They are one aspect of our program which consists of multiple initiatives which work together to combat bullying. When you order them, you are helping us support our other initiatives which are meant to SUPPORT YOU and those participating in your school or workplace. Please do not assume you can not afford to purchase pledge shirts from us and take the easy way out by getting everyone to wear pink. A plain pink shirt loses it's effectiveness if it's worn alone...STAND UP Pledge shirts will remind everyone of the day every time they're worn. They send a clear, effective message..and with some creative thinking, we guarantee you can make them available to participants in your school or workplace!

International STANDUP to Bullying Day - Much more than just a pink shirt
The following table shows the other tools and initiatives that are supported by your participation in International STAND UP to Bullying Day.
Tools/Initiative		Free Service	Supported	Description
www.Bullyhelp.org				Bullyhelp.org is an online reporting service which we hope will be utilized by schools around the world. The site enables anonymous communication between trained counselors at schools with concerned students who feel classmates may need support or guidance in a situation. The service can be utilized for free by schools who do not have resources available to pay for services such as Bully Help. The site was developed exclusively from funding generated by last year's International STAND UP to Bullying Day.
GOT YOUR BACK APP				"GOT YOUR BACK" is a social networking application that allows users to stand up to bullying in a cyber atmosphere on sites like Facebook ®, MySpace ® or Bebo ® The application is being developed in conjunction with FreeCause.com and will be 100% funded by support from International STAND UP to Bullying Day.
www.IGOTBULLIED.com				A website that enables victims of bullying to tell their story to the world. Sometimes people are completely oblivious to the severity of bullying, and dismiss the small things they see, because they don't realize that more serious things are taking place behind the scenes. Hearing from victims of bullying can motivate bystanders to take a stand every time they see bullying. We will choose the best story each month and send it to schools which have participated in International STAND UP to Bullying Day to display to students. The site is still in development, but will be completely funded by International STAND UP to Bullying Day.
International STAND UP to Bullying Coference				The International STAND UP to Bullying Conference is an initiative being developed to bring together youth who have been affected by bullying and have them share their experiences and learn from one another. The date still hasn't been released but it will take place over a weekend and will educate children on ways to turn their negative experiences into positive ones that can touch the lives of others. Motivational speakers specializing in bullying, leading life coaches, and physical wellness trainers will be hired to present at the event, and workshops will take place to brainstorm new ideas to combat bullying. The conference will be a fun event (including social activities) where victims of bullying can build friendships with others who have been affected by similar situations. Although their will be a fee to attend, support from International STANDUP to Bullying Day will play a role in the start up costs associated with organizing the event.
www.BullyAdvice.com				Bullyadvice.com is an online support guide for victims of bullying that is still in the development stages. The site will offer a wealth of knowledge for victims with questions on how to deal with bullying. The guide is being developed utilizing the research of child psychology experts from the perspective of young adults who understand the intricacies of school ground politics. The guide will be focused around increasing the confidence level in the victim, rather then providing ways to get the bully to leave the person alone for a given amount of time. The philosophy is that if the victim can become more confident and learn to deal with bullying as a whole, the problem won't persist in their lives after the specific incident stops. Leading experts in confidence building, life coaching, motivational speaking, and physical health and wellness will be contracted to provide articles for BullyAdvice.com The site will act as a complete guide for victims needing help. The site will also offer a forum for victims to communicate with one another about what works for them. This will give victims a way to support one another and build friendships with people who are dealing with similar situations.