With A Little Help From Our Buddies

With apologies to The Beatles (and their fans all over the globe)...we're gonna get by with a little help from our buddies.  Buddies like Kim K, who donned her Buddy Up Against Bullying bib for the Tarheel 10 Miler over the weekend.  She had her official race bib on the front of her shirt, while her Buddy Up Against Bullying bib was on her back.  

What better way to promote Buddy Up Against Bullying, than to be a living, breathing, walking, running, sweating (haha) billboard?  And there is no need to wait for May 24th to get out there with your Buddy Up bib.  

Do you have a race coming up this weekend?  Download your own Buddy Up Against Bullying bib and, like Kim, let us have your back while you compete.  You won't even notice we're there...but your fellow runners will.

Thank you to our buddies everywhere for getting out there and spreading the word.  Happy running.

TC 

11 Facts About Bullying

Here are a few facts about bullying from our buddies at DO Something (dosomething.org):

1. Over 3.2 million students are victims of bullying each year.

2. 1 in 4 teachers see nothing wrong with bullying and will only intervene 4% of the time.

3. Approximately 160,000 teens skip school every day because of bullying.

4. 17% of American students report being bullied 2 to 3 times a month or more within a school semester.

5. By age 14 less than 30% of boys and 40% of girls will talk to their peers about bullying.

6. Over 67% of students believe that schools respond poorly to bullying, with a high percentage of students believing that adult help is infrequent and ineffective.

7. 71% of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school.

8. 90% of 4th through 8th graders report being victims of bullying.

9. 1 in 10 students drop out of school because of repeated bullying.

10. As boys age they are less and less likely to feel sympathy for victims of bullying. In fact they are more likely to add to the problem than solve it.

11. Physical bullying increases in elementary school, peaks in middle school and declines in high school. Verbal abuse, on the other hand, remains constant.

The Countdown is ON!

If you haven't already downloaded your FREE Buddy Up Against Bullying bib, please click here to get yours now.


Countdown clock provided by: Countdown Clocks

Why Memorial Day Weekend? Why NOT Memorial Day Weekend?

Several people have asked, "Why are you having the Buddy Up Against Bullying run on Memorial Day weekend?  Aren't you worried that it will hurt the participation?"  My answer is a steadfast, "Nope.  Not worried at all."

I guess to some it may seem a bit odd to hold the event on a holiday weekend.  Sure, there is a chance that the level of participation here at our school may be impacted somewhat with some families traveling for the weekend.  However, the date really should not have an impact on overall participation thanks to the Virtual 5K aspect.  

On May 24th, 2014, no matter where on the globe you happen to find yourself, you can pin on you Buddy Up Against Bullying bib and go for a run...or a walk...or a bike ride...or a hike.  No matter what you do, you will be helping raise awareness over the epidemic that is bullying.  And that is what Buddy Up is all about...raising awareness and keeping the conversation about bullying out in the open.

Bullying doesn't just exist here in North Carolina (where I work).  It isn't a uniquely American issue either.  This is a global issue that impacts young people everywhere.  And I don't need to look at research data to know that...though the data certainly exists.  All I really have to do is look at the traffic for this very blog.  We have followers from all over the planet (which is a bit humbling to me...but I am thankful for the support), which tells me bullying is also an issue in Australia, Russia, Brazil, Malaysia, and India to name a few.

Nope...not worried one bit about having participation impacted by the Memorial Day weekend.

Thank you for your continued support!

TC

Running This Weekend?

Hi Buddies!  Got a big race this weekend?  Maybe just a training run?  Perhaps a bike ride?  How about a walk around the neighborhood with the family?  Whatever the case may be, we hope you'll consider promoting Buddy Up while you do what you do.

Here's how:  Click here to download your FREE Buddy Up Against Bullying bib, pin it to your shirt (if you're running a race, we suggest pinning it to your back), and go do your thing.  As you pass (or in my case are passed by) other runners they'll get a glimpse of  the bib and hopefully want to join our cause.

This is something I did last weekend as I ran the Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston, SC.  I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people asking me about Buddy Up and/or taking pictures of the bib so they could visit the blog.  So to our new buddies that were made in Charleston...welcome and thank you for your support.

Thank you everyone for the support you've given Buddy Up over the past year.  With your help and shameless promotion as a human billboard (and I mean that in the most flattering way possible), this year's event will easily surpass last year's in the number of bibs downloaded and the number of folks running all over the globe in support of our cause on May 24th.

Thank you a thousand times over for your support, and have a great weekend!

TC

Buddy Up Gets Some Free Publicity!

We are so stinking excited here at Buddy Up HQ that we can barely stand ourselves!  The good people at Character Matters NC gave Buddy Up Against Bullying a shout out via Twitter (@CharacterNC).  Of course we "retweeted" the news just as soon as we saw it.  If you follow us on Twitter, we ask that you retweet it as well and help spread the word.

That reminds us...if you don't already follow us on Twitter (@BuddyUp5K) or "like" us on Facebook, please do so today.  Every bit of publicity we can garner through social media helps to spread the Buddy Up message a little more quickly.  

Thank you one and all for your support of Buddy Up Against Bullying!

The Bib Is Ready!

Good news buddies!  The 2014 Buddy Up Against Bullying bib is ready for download.

To download your bib, simply click here and follow the extremely easy instructions.  Encourage your friends via social media, word of mouth, billboards, sky-writing...whatever means works best for you...to join us by downloading their own bib and taking part in the 2014 Buddy Up Against Bullying Virtual 5K on May 24th.

Special thanks to our buddies at Races to Remember for getting this year's bib ready and online so quickly, and very special thanks also to long-time buddy Kathy Myers for her work on the design for this years logo.

Thank you one and all for your continued support!

TC