Hey U.G.L.Y. Initiatives

The Hey U.G.L.Y. message has reached over 650,000 students through our work with schools, community organizations, youth development professionals and our: website, radio show, Empathy Learning Activity Plans, in-school presentations and teen/tween task force programs to end bullying, obesity and racism. Since the number one influencer of teens and tweens is their peers, with media and family coming in second and third, we design all of our programs to empower the students to be a part of the solution. We do this through eight initiatives:

1.  The HeyUGLY.org website which includes cool celebrity quotes about self-esteem and body image.

2.   Self-Esteem and Character Development Empathy Learning Activity Plans (ELAPs) available to schools and youth serving organizations. According to Principal, Dr. Sue Bryant, "Hey U.G.L.Y.'s empathy learning activity plans are more impactful on teens and tweens because they work in two very different areas of learning:  academic understanding and emotional experience. For the learning to go deeper it is necessary that the learning actually shape behavior. This is where Hey UGLY's program is special and powerful. Every lesson creates an emotional experience, an 'aha moment', for the learner, and then records the feeling in some way. Students leave the learning setting with new emotional understanding about what it means to live in a successful human community."

3. Stop Bullying Presentations at school assemblies with separate sessions for teachers and parents. After a recent presentation to middle-school and Jr.-high school students:

     93% now recognize when they are having negative
     judgments against themselves and others
 
     83% state they learned how to cancel out negative
     judgments and replace them with positive thoughts

     58% indicate that no one has bullied them since our
     presentation

4.  Hey U.G.L.Y.'s CHOOSE TO Change Radio Show which features songs that nurture positive self-esteem and promote diversity, perseverance, peace and a healthy planet. Songs are suggested by students which are often guest DJs on the show.

5.  CONTESTS:
o   Acronym contest where we ask tweens & teens to come up with positive acronyms for negative words like DORK, HATE, RACISM, STUPID or LOSER.
o   Essay contest where we ask teens to write why it's important to have good self-esteem.
o   Stop Bullying Video contest where teens and tweens create films to show that bullying is not cool.

6.  HUE-MAN BEING Project(tm) which is a diversity-driven program to impress upon students, and illuminate to adults that we are all brothers and sisters simply "hued" variously. (Art and music components available)

7.  Hey U.G.L.Y. Task Force programs which guides student leadership groups to create school-wide programs to unite the student body in prevention initiatives.

8.  Self-esteem and diversity-building marketing initiatives.

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