Kids Help Kids Cure The Bullies

Kids Help Kids Cure The Cyberbullies

12 October 2010

As Australias kids head back to school for the final term of the year, SchoolAid, with the support of the Vodafone Foundation, urges parents, teachers and children to visit www.curethebullies.com.au and be a part of this online campaign to educate and empower children to recognise and take a stand against the epidemic of cyberbullying, which affects up to 25% of childreni.

Developed BY kids FOR kids, CureTheBullies is a fun, interactive awareness-raising campaign, which focuses on a new approach to the issue by targeting the 'bystander' kids who may witness bullying behaviour or even act as an accomplice to bullying behaviours, through their use of email, social networking or text messaging.

Aimed at children between eight and 12 years of age, the campaign helps children identify passive bystander behaviour in themselves through taking a self-discovery test online, "a free health check" and offers them tools and advice on how to rid themselves of their "Bullies Virus".

Bullies Virus Self Discovery and Cure

Six cyberbullying behaviours have been turned into disgusting, slimy Bullies Viruses. Kids can visit www.curethebullies.com.au and take a fun self-discovery test to "diagnose" their Bullies Virus. If infected, kids use a "cure" such as Understanding or Courage to pickle their Bullies Virus.

Gang Green
Symptoms: Ganging up on someone on Facebook, blogs or forums
Cure: Friendship

Forwarditis
Symptoms: Forwarding emails, pictures or messages that could make someone feel bad
Cure: Understanding

Onlookerosis
Symptoms: Doing nothing at all when someone is being bullied on emails, blogs or Facebook
Cure: Courage

Slaggermania
Symptoms: Cure: Having a personal email or IM conversation with someone and then showing it to other people
Cure: Friendship

Hasslenza
Symptoms: Sending scary or nasty messages to people in forums or on Facebook, emails or IMs
Cure Kindness

Commentitis
Symptoms: Adding to a nasty email, blog or Facebook post that someone else has made
Cure: Understanding

Background material

Recognising the need to break the cycle of cyberbullying and to give children a voice in the cyberbullying conversation, SchoolAid, with the support of the Vodafone Foundation, took a unique approach to tackling cyberbullying.

SchoolAid Founder, Sean Gordon said, "After listening to children at regular focus groups throughout the development of the campaign, we realised that there was an urgent need to address the issue of passive, ,,bystander behaviour around cyberbullying. In the spirit of SchoolAids philosophy of empowering kids to take action on issues that affect them, CureTheBullies will mobilise kids to take a stand, not because a teacher or parent tells them to, but because they understand that bullying and bystander behaviours are potentially in everyone - but they can be changed."

Chair of the Vodafone Foundation, Tanya Bowes said, "We are really pleased to be able to support SchoolAid through the Vodafone Foundation and bring CureTheBullies to children across Australia. Its a great opportunity to help children and their parents understand what cyberbullying is all about and how they can be empowered to make a difference."

The program will be rolled out to schools leveraging SchoolAids network of over 1,500 actively participating schools across the country thus helping reach thousands of primary school children

Parents, teachers or children interested in learning more can visit www.curethebullies.com.au

For media enquiries, please contact

Michelle OBrien
Vodafone
0414 012 401
[email protected]

Rose Kelly
Weber Shandwick
0404 784 814
[email protected]

About SchoolAid

SchoolAid is a non-profit organisation which provides resources to principals and teachers to support them in creating philanthropic, caring students. SchoolAid believes that children have an innate sense of compassion and empathy, particularly for other children, and we provide children with the means to
engage with children around the world kids helping kids and turn their fundraising efforts into genuine, engaged philanthropy.

About the Vodafone Foundation

The Vodafone Foundation is committed to supporting people and charitable organisations to help them reach their full potential and aims to make social investments and form partnerships. The Vodafone Foundation Australia was established in 2002 and is one of 24 Vodafone Foundations around the world.

SOURCE: SchoolAid & The Vodafone Foundation