Back to School ... Back to Bullying Prevention with STOMP Out Bullying™

BonTon Stores Inc. Partners with Stomp Out Bullying™

New York, NY, August 03, 2012 --(PR.com)-- STOMP Out Bullying™ announces its partnership with BonTon for the Fourth Annual BLUE SHIRT DAY™ World Day of Bullying Prevention to kick off National Bullying Prevention Awareness month in October. On October 1st, 2012, STOMP Out Bullying™ will ask kids and adults to wear a blue shirt in solidarity to make bullying prevention heard around the world as a way to combat bullying and cyberbullying.

As students prepare to return to school, the one thing many are not looking forward to is being bullied. In fact 13 Million kids will be bullied this year in the United States.

As a call to action, hundreds of schools across the country have agreed to participate in BLUE SHIRT DAY™ World Day of Bullying Prevention, which occurs annually on the first Monday in October.

Ross Ellis, Founder and CEO of STOMP Out Bullying™ states, "Kids who are intimidated, threatened, or harmed by bullies and cyberbullies often experience low self-esteem and depression-- some even take their lives as we have seen with recent suicides across the country. Schools, teachers and parents can no longer sweep the issue under the rug. We have to look at prevention as a community issue, and we are so grateful to our partners joining us in this fight to STOMP Out Bullying.”

For this year’s campaign, participants can purchase a “2012 edition” blue shirt created by Sledge USA, at Bon-Ton stores across the country. The price of each shirt is $12 and Bon-Ton will donate $8 of each sale to STOMP Out Bullying™. In addition, Bon-Ton has created an interactive social media campaign that offers shoppers discounts and an additional donation. To launch the program, Bon-Ton will host a back-to-school sweepstakes on their Facebook page from August 1 – September 7th.

Brendan Hoffman, President and CEO, The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., said, "All of us at the Bon-Ton stores want to make a difference in our children's lives during this back-to-school season and what better way than to support "STOMP Out Bullying, " a national organization focused on eradicating bullying in our schools and communities. Our hope is that parents, teachers and children will participate in the Annual Blue Shirt Day™ World Day of Bullying Prevention and stand up to bullies everywhere."

Kids, teens and adults can participate and show their support by wearing their own blue shirt on October first. The campaign will also feature a PSA created by Avrett Free Ginsberg, produced by Curious Pictures and distributed by Tylie Jones. The PSA will air on major TV and cable networks, as well as online. Additionally, a social media campaign will be a large component of the campaign and will be created by teen celebrities.

With bullying starting as early as kindergarten, kids and teens must be educated about the harmful effects of bullying and cyberbullying. They can begin by showing support for BLUE SHIRT DAY™ World Day of Bullying Prevention.

Recent Statistics Show:
- 1 out of 4 kids are Bullied
- 9 out of 10 LGBT students experience harassment at school
- Depending on their ages, up to 40% of kids and teens report being digitally harassed
- Approximately 160,000 kids stay home from school each day due to the fear of being bullied

About STOMP Out Bullying
A national anti-bullying and cyberbullying program for kids and teens is a signature program of Love Our Children USA. Created in 2005, it focuses on reducing and preventing bullying, cyberbullying, sexting and other digital abuse, educating against homophobia, racism and hatred, decreasing school absenteeism, and deterring violence in schools, online and in communities across the country. It teaches effective solutions on how to respond to all forms of bullying; as well as educating kids and teens in school and online, providing help for those in need and at risk of suicide, raising awareness, peer mentoring programs in schools, public service announcements by noted celebrities, and social media campaigns. Created in June, 2011, the HelpChat Line has helped almost 3,800 students who are bullied and at-risk for suicide and saved 61 lives to date. An additional focus educates parents on how to keep their children safe and responsible online.

www.stompoutbullying.org, http://www.facebook.com/StompOutBullying Twitter: @STOMPoutBullyng Hashtag #STOMPOutBullyng

About Bon-Ton:
The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., with corporate headquarters in York, Pennsylvania and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, operates 272 department stores, which include 11 furniture galleries, in 23 states in the Northeast, Midwest and upper Great Plains under the Bon-Ton, Bergner’s, Boston Store, Carson’s, Elder-Beerman, Herberger’s and Younkers nameplates and, in the Detroit, Michigan area, under the Parisian nameplate. The stores offer a broad assortment of national and private brand fashion apparel and accessories for women, men and children, as well as cosmetics and home furnishings. Facebook.com/bonton.com, Twitter: @thebonton
Contact
STOMP Out Bullying
Anna Aloisio
212-838-0822 ext. 240
http://www.stompoutbullying.org/
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