Be a Sponsor or Advertiser

Hey U.G.L.Y., Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization

If your company wants to youth stamp out low self-esteem so they can counter bullying, call 219-778-2011 or email us at HeyUGLY@heyugly.org to learn about our social marketing campaigns and partnership opportunities.

RECENT EVENTS:

Sponsors and Supporters of Hey U G L Y's Walk To End Childhood Obesity led by Dan and Jackie Evans of NBC's THE BIGGEST LOSER



Michigan City Community Enrichment Corporation

 Sponsors and Supporters of
 Hey U G L Y's National Stop Bullying Day   




                           

 Michigan City Community Enrichment Corporation
Naprapathic Medicine of New Mexico


 

Low self-esteem is a critical issue facing tweens & teens today. It has been proven that low self-esteem affects learning and can lead to such problems as bullying, delinquency, unhealthy relationships, eating disorders, violence, drug abuse and suicide.

     Bullying:   Approximately 160,000 children a day stay home from school because they are afraid of being bullied. US Dept of Education  That's over 3 million students a month. A national survey of kids in grades 6-10, found 13 percent reported bullying others, 11 percent reported being the target of bullies, and another 6 percent said that they bullied others and were bullied themselves. Experts say the facts are troubling, because bullying too often leads to violence, loss of self-esteem, depression and even suicide. Source: National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center   Suicide among young people continues to be a serious problem. According to the CDC suicide is the third leading cause of death of youth between the ages of 10 and 24. It results in approximately 4400 lives lost each year. Deaths from youth suicide are only part of the problem. More young people survive suicide attempts than actually die. A nationwide survey of youth in grades 9-12 in public and private schools in the United States (U.S.) found that 15% of students reported seriously considering suicide, 11% reported creating a plan, and 7% reporting trying to take their own life in the 12 months preceding the survey. Each year, approximately 149,000 youth between the ages of 10 and 24 receive medical care for self-inflicted injuries at Emergency Departments across the U.S.

    Bullying Violence:   New research on 37 school shootings, including Columbine, found that almost three-quarters of student shooters felt bullied, threatened, attacked or injured by others. In fact, several shooters reported experiencing long-term and severe bullying and harassment from their peers.  Source:  Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education
     Bullies Target Obese Kids:  In a study conducted by the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, Teachers reported that 34 percent of the study children had been bullied, and mothers reported that 45 percent of the children had been bullied, while 25 percent of the children themselves said they had been bullied. The study was led by Julie C. Lumeng, who is an assistant professor at the university's Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases and also the lead author of the paper. She says that one of the reasons bullying is so tightly-watched is because it promotes feelings of depression, anxiety and loneliness in victims. In some cases, these symptoms can get so severe that children commit suicide to escape. Bullying is worse today than in the past, because the Internet allows bullies to follow their victims throughout the day.

     Bullying and Substance Abuse:  As a result of bullying-related depression, adolescent girls may engage in substance use.  Jeremy Luk/Washington University Report  funded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

     Obesity and Eating Disorders: A 2003 survey reported 13.5 percent of high school students as obese. Overall obesity reported in high school boys was 17.3 percent, nearly double that of girls, which was 9.4 percent. In the United States, conservative estimates indicate that, after puberty, 5-10 million girls and women and 1 million boys and men are struggling with eating disorders including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, or borderline conditions. Source: National Eating Disorders Association 33% of Anorexia respondents reported the onset of their illness between the ages of 11-15 and 43% reported the onset between the ages of 16-20. Source:  ANAD (Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders)

     Drop Out Rate: According to most estimates, today's teenagers are dropping out of high school at an alarmingly high rate -- about 30 percent, a statistic that researchers say is very close to what it was in the 1970s, when the educational reform movement was getting under way. That's across the board -- big city or small town, urban or rural district. And researchers say that among African-Americans and Latinos, the numbers are as high as 50 percent. Indianapolis Star Tribune

Teens are in dire need of a safe environment to learn how to respect and value themselves as unique gifted and lovable youth. Hey U.G.L.Y. is meeting that demand.