What can be done to prevent bullying
and stop the insanity of youth suicide?
According to the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC),
suicide is the third largest killer of
teens in America. Other reports
point to it being the number one
killer of gay teens. What can be
done to stop the insanity of bullying
and prevent teen suicide? The nonprofit organization, Hey U.G.L.Y. –
Unique Gifted Lovable You and its Prevent Bullying Now
division believe empowering youth to be part of the solution to bullying is the answer.
What differentiates Hey U.G.L.Y. from other organizations
with similar goals is that
it helps youth have empathy for themselves
and others, especially
the bully.
After completing the
empathy for the bully
exercise in Hey U.G.L.Y.'s
Stop Bullying curriculum,
students report an 85%
reduction in the pain
level experienced
because of a bullying situation and also report no longer
feeling alone. This is huge because, according to the Department of Education, 160,000 students report staying
home from school each day because they fear being bullied. That is three million a month!
Hey U.G.L.Y. believes the first step to empowering youth
is communicating with them in a way they can relate.
Since the #1 influence on youth
is their peers, Hey U.G.L.Y. develops all of its programs and
curricula to empower youth to
come up with the answers in
peer-to-peer group settings,
with teachers guiding them
through the process.
The #2 influence is the media,
which is why Hey U.G.L.Y.
provides schools with in-school
presenters from media favorites
like American Idol and The
that tell them they are ‘all alone and not good enough.’ Their
personal stories about overcoming bullying and life’s obstacles empower students to never give up and teach them
ways to cancel out negative judgments against themselves
and others by replacing them with positives thoughts. Hey
U.G.L.Y.’s website is full of celebrity quotes about selfesteem, bullying, body image and dating. Their radio show,
CHOOSE TO CHANGE, has youth discussing the lyrics to songs
they believe will inspire positive self-esteem, equality, a
healthy planet, peace or never giving up.
HEY U.G.L.Y.’S THREE-TIER
BULLYING PREVENTION PROGRAM
Tier I: Kick-off Assembly Presentation: Conducted by one of
Hey U.G.L.Y.'s media personalities who have survived bullying, these presentations get the students engaged, excited
and on board.
National Hey U.G.L.Y. Spokesperson, singer/songwriter
Devyn Rush, who gained popularity as the “singing waitress”
on American Idol, was bullied
so badly she didn't want to go
to school and never felt good enough. She shares her story
about how she learned to see herself and others as equal,
unique, gifted and lovable people in in Hey U.G.L.Y.'s I AM
ENOUGH interactive assembly presentation which
includes a mini-concert of her self-esteem-building songs
I AM ENOUGH and THE ALCHEMIST.
Singer/songwriter Dan
Evans who overcame
his addiction to food
and lost 132 pounds on
NBC's popular show,
The Biggest Loser. Dan
helps students understand the importance of
loving and respecting
themselves in order to
break free from selfdestructive behaviors
like smoking, drinking and drugs. Dan makes it clear that
behaviors like drama, anger and most importantly selfbullying all stem from a lack of self-worth. During this inspiring interactive presentation, he performs songs from his
chart-topping CD, GOIN' ALL OUT, including the powerful
LETTER TO MY ADDICTION.
Hey U.G.L.Y. co-founder,
Sporty King of WGN-TV fame
helps students learn to turn
negatives into positives in his
award-winning assembly.
Average survey results from
students attending these
assembly presentations are:
87% have not been bullied
since the presentation;
86% reported not bullying anyone;
77% now recognize when they are having negative judgments against themselves and others; and
69% state they learned to cancel out negative judgments
and replace them with positive thoughts.
Tier II: Student-led Stop Bullying Task Force Program:
Teachers take a group of 20
students through
Hey U.G.L.Y.'s 5-hour
Stop Bullying Task Force
Program Curriculum. The group
is comprised of students who
have been bullied, are bullies
and are bystanders to bullying situations. Once students
complete the course and are certified, they will teach
what they learned to their younger classmates. Since
having to face your peer as a judge is a deterrent to bullying, principals can invite a task force member to preside
over hearing the stories of the bully and bullied.
Tier III: Sustainability: Hey U.G.L.Y.'s monthly
Empathy Learning Activity Plans (ELAP) continue the important character education
lessons of empathy, selfrespect, kindness, and nonjudgment. Additionally, all
Hey U.G.L.Y. programs
contain mandated learning
standards to help educators
incorporate these programs
into daily curriculum and keep it going continuously
throughout the school year, thus reinforcing the excitement and lessons laid down in the inspiring assembly
presentation.
Founded in 2002, Hey U.G.L.Y., Inc. became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2004. This organization is dedicated to helping youth with selfesteem and empathy-building programs to empower them to be part of the
solution to bullying. (U.G.L.Y. is an acronym for Unique Gifted Lovable You.)
The Hey U.G.L.Y. message has reached over 700,000 students through the
Stop Bullying Task Force Program Curriculum, Empathy Learning Activity
Plans (ELAPs), Assembly Presentations, seminars, website, "Choose To
Change" radio show and work with schools, community organizations and
youth development professionals. Its youth programs enable students to
become an integral part in the teaching and learning process.
“We can't expect kids to know what
social justice, diversity,
prejudice, and self-esteem are
(the kids at our school didn't)
until we TEACH them.
We can't expect kids to have skills
to stand up for their peers
unless we TEACH them.
Hey U.G.L.Y.'s Stop Bullying
Curriculum gives kids what they need
to be proactive peace makers
not only in their schools
but also in their future.
To learn more about Hey U.G.L.Y.'s three-tiered
Stop Bullying Program go to
PreventBullyingNow.org
To bring this highly effective, educator and
counselor-endorsed program to a school in your
area go to: AdoptASchoolToStopBullying.org.
To make a donation go to: heyugly.org/donate.php.
To inspire youth-direct them to: HeyUGLY.org
CONTACT:
[email protected]
219-778-2011
Even if it doesn't seem like bullying
is a problem in your school,
you may not SEE the problem
until you TEACH kids
to become sensitive to clues that
show there is a problem.
This program has been a great help
at our school!”
Katherine Kohler, Assistant Counselor,
Rolling Prairie Elementary
HeyUGLY.org for youth
PreventBullyingNow.org for educators
Devyn Rush’s explanation of bullying.
Empowering youth to be part of the solution to bullying!
a 50l(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to
empowering youth to be part of the solution to bullying.
PROUD SPONSOR OF NATIONAL STOP BULLYING