National Stop Bullying Day- MTR NBC-TV  Marc Mullins - Good Morning folks! It's National Stop-Bullying Day. It's a day to arm kids with the support and will to stand up against bullies in school. Does anybody out there have a story about how they shut down a bully? This morning on NEWSOURCE TODAY, we have an exclusive interview with the head of Hey U.G.L.Y. (Unique Gifted Lovable You) on ways to help principals, teachers and student stop bullies.

Nonprofit Helps Educators Teach Empathy to Youth Karen Anderson - Lack of empathy, of which bullying is the most violent expression, is a critical issue facing our youth today. University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research analyzed 72 studies on the empathy of nearly 14,000 college students between 1979 and 2009. Their report shows today's college students are about 40 percent lower in empathy than students two or three decades earlier. Out of this concern, and the near loss of a teen to suicide, youth advocate, Betty Hoeffner, president of the youth self-esteem and empathy-building nonprofit, Hey U.G.L.Y. - Unique Gifted Lovable You - partnered with educators and curriculum writers to develop social and empathy learning programs geared for students aged 9 to 19. Called Empathy Learning Activity Plans (ELAPs) the nonprofit built in mandated learning standards in areas such as math, English, health and social studies to help teachers easily incorporate into their existing curriculums. (Read more)

It's Not What You're Eating, It's What's Eating You. Alana Greenfogel -Dan Evans says the hardest part about being on the TV show "The Biggest Loser" was taking off his shirt in front of America. Evans told a crowd in Michigan City Sunday afternoon, the most rewarding part of being on the show, was gaining his life back. "I developed habits of overeating and fast food and it was something that got out of control but I had no clue how to fix it," Dan explains. "I finally realized, I said, you know what, I can do this. I can change my life and I can be in control of who I am." (Hear more)

Stop Bullying Program Helps Teens Thwart Bullying Situations  Laurie Wink -  A group of students attending a summer camp in Michigan learned some unusual skills. They found out how to stop bullying behavior, including their own. They are among a growing number of teens who are learning to be part of the solution to bullying by forming Stop Bullying Task Forces. The teen task force approach was developed by Hey U.G.L.Y. (Unique, Gifted, Lovable You). The nonprofit organization is dedicated to empowering young people ages 9 to 19 to counter issues such as bullying through self-esteem building programs. Dalia Vitkus, an MA in Criminal Justice and counselor for the Lithuanian Sea Scouts works with 15- and 16-year-old girls. She initiated Hey U.G.L.Y.'s Stop Bullying Task Force
Program with her group at summer camp and was amazed to see how quickly the girls were able to apply their new anti-bullying skills. (Read more)

Students Form Anti-bullying Task Force - FRONT PAGE ONE STORY by Debbie Bosak  (Read more)

Teens Reveal True Selves in New MTV Show Laurie Wink - "If You Really Knew Me," a documentary series that premiered July 20 on MTV, gets teens to drop their masks and open up about their lives. By revealing who they really are, the young people discover they're not so different. Each episode takes place at a different U.S. high school during Challenge Day, when students engage in activities designed to move them out of their comfort zones. In each episode, five selected students discuss their issues in more detail. Betty Hoeffner, co-founder and president of Hey U.G.L.Y. - Unique, Gifted, Lovable You - says "If You Really Knew Me" points out the power of peer support. Hey U.G.L.Y. is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping youth self-discover solutions to counter obesity, bullying and racism. "We are recommending all of our students and educators watch this show," Hoeffner said. "I love how it helps students realize that they are not alone. That makes it easier for them to be who they are instead of who they think they need to be."  (Read more)

LaPorte students take stand against bullying
by Stan Maddux – Times Correspondent-
About 2,000 students in LaPorte took a stand against bullying Wednesday by signing a football field-sized banner that will be sent to Chicago and other parts of the nation. more...

You Again' Shows Lasting Effects of Teen Bullying Laurie Wink - The movie, "You Again," released Sept. 24, shows the multigenerational and long-lasting trauma of teen bullying. more...

The Karate Kid starring Jaden Smith, supported by Anti-Bullying Organization U.G.L.Y Laurie Wink - Bullying is just one of the issues that many students are now facing in the United States. This attitude is like a hereditary one since it has been passed from generation to generation. Discrimination is a difficult problem to overcome and a mixture of approaches to this may be necessary. Some will put others down verbally, others may even resort to violence. Do these people get something from bullying others? Recently, a film has been played in movie theaters which conveys an anti-bullying message that encourages tweens and teens to protect themselves from abusive peers. The Karate starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan was opened in movie theaters last June 11. In relation to this film, Hey U.G.L.Y., a nonprofit youth empowerment organization, endorses this family-friendly film for its anti-bullying theme. more...

Survey Finds Smart Teenagers Risk Ridicule Vicki Syal - As teen self-esteem building movie, Akeelah and the Bee graced theatres, CB Teen magazine and HeyUGLY.org in conjunction with Lions Gate films were busy  more...

Huge' TV Show Offers Support for Obese Teens Laurie Wink - Many overweight kids who've struggled to fit in with peers will relate to the TV drama "Huge," a ten-episode show now running on the ABC Family cable channel. According to Jill Zimmerman Rutledge, a Chicago based eating disorders therapist  and advisor to Hey U.G.L.Y.,  "overweight teens will identify with the campers' different attitudes about weight loss, and the difficulty of changing unhealthy habits."  more...

Laughing In The Face Of The Economy
Lead story by Nadia Crow - The unstable economy is no laughing matter, but a group of Michaina students are using some unusual techniques to help people get through these difficult times. more...

 

Survey finds teens are NOT Stepford Wives - As the Stepford Wives movie graced theatres across America, HeyUGLY.org and CollegeBounds CB Teen magazine were busy surveying teens to see if they were Stepford Teens. The survey sought to find out if young women felt the need to dumb themselves down to be more attractive to men. more...

LOL - LP students help others laugh it up Timoth
 - Brandi Morrow once laughed for 10 minutes
straight. The 15-year-old was up late the night before with a friend and they entered that odd, worn-out delirium that often leads to laughter. more...
 

Stop Bullying program launched by 6th Graders In March of 2009 the students became members of the Hey U.G.L.Y. Stop Bullying Task Force. Together they delved into bullying. What is it? How can we stop it? How can we help others? Following are some of their discoveries: more...

Tom Dreesen names Hey U. G. L. Y.'s Laugh It Off CD the CURE FOR ROAD RAGE - "When I get stuck in traffic I play a CD of contagious laughter called 'Laugh It Off','" said Dreesen, who is chronicling his life story in a Broadway-bound play called, "Shining Shoes and Sinatra." Dreesen, who opened for Frank Sinatra for 13 years says, "I have 'Laugh It Off' on my CD changer and I found it to be the cure for road rage. It also helps our youth as the CD is a fundraising product for Hey U G L Y, the nonprofit organization dedicated to helping teens with self-esteem-building tools, to help them counter challenges such as eating disorders, bullying, violence, substance abuse and suicide." more...

Oprah Show Inspires NewT-Shirt - Oprah Winfrey told Naomi Judd that her life changed for the better once she came to the realization that she deserved. That Oprah show inspired the teen self-esteem building nonprofit organization, Hey U G L Y, to create a survey to get people in touch with their inner deservedness. The top responses were put on a T-shirt to remind everyone that we all really do DESERVE.  more ...

Backsides becoming billboards in fashion - Could it be that the new fashion statement will be statements and logos emblazoned across the derriere instead of across the chest? If what were seeing on people like Gwyneth Paltrow, Anouck and film director Rick Erwin, fashion could be taking a turn for the verse.   more...

Teens choose positive lyrics for "Song of the Month" - Since Song of the Month was launched, teens have submitted songs that range from Soar by Christina Aguilera to Can't Take That Away by Mariah Carey, said Betty Hoeffner, president and co-founder of Hey U G L Y. We understand the power of music, and experienced how it helped in ending a war in the seventies. Our hope is that teens will start listening for, and searching out, positive lyrics, and embracing the messages they convey.   more...

Contest asks kids to turn LOSER, STUPID or DORK into positive acronym - In an attempt to get tweens and teens in the practice of turning negatives into positives, Hey U G L Y, Inc. has launched a national contest asking kids, 12 19, to create a positive acronym for Stupid, Loser or Dork. Taking a cue from inspirational speaker Sporty King, who transformed the word ugly to mean Unique Gifted Lovable You, the folks at Hey UGLY will award big prizes for the best entries.   more...