Cartoon Network and Sen. Bob Casey launch anti-bullying campaign
U.S. Rep. Bob Casey and Cartoon Network president Stuart Snyder were at Warren G. Harding Middle School in Frankford today to launch a national flag raising campaign against bullying.
“I am re-introducing the Safe Schools Improvement Act to help ensure that every child receives a quality education that builds self-confidence,” Casey said in a statement. “This bill is a crucial step towards ensuring that no child is afraid to go to school for fear of bullying. I appreciate Cartoon Network’s efforts to shine light on this important issue.”
Schools, community centers and businesses can now raise “Stop Bullying: Speak Up” flags to mark the locations as places where bullying won’t be tolerated. To jumpstart the effort, The Cartoon Network has joined with LG Electronics and is through the American Federation of Teachers delivering more than 2,000 bullying prevention tool kits and flags to schools across the country.
The AFT will encourage members to post on Facebook images and testimonials illustrating how they’ve raised their “Stop Bullying: Speak Up” flag and to invite friends and colleagues to do the same. Anyone can download an image of one of the flags, use a template to create their own and take the campaign’s social media pledge on its Facebook page or website.
“We’ve visited other schools and cities to build awareness and enlist support for the ‘Stop Bullying: Speak Up’ mission, and have been greatly encouraged by the overwhelming response students, teachers and parents have shown once they realize there are proven tactics and methods that can help bring a quick end to bullying situations,” Stuart said. “We hope wherever the ‘Stop Bullying: Speak Up’ flag might appear, young people will understand that this is a safe place where bullying behaviors will not be tolerated.”
The Cartoon Network’s “Stop Bullying: Speak Up” campaign was first launched in 2010 and already includes a website, an online social pledge app developed in partnership with Facebook and Time Warner, a television documentary with an introduction by President Barack Obama, two Anderson Cooper-hosted CNN segments and a number of public service announcements.
