It does not matter what race you are, what ethnicity you are, what background you come from being upper, middle or lower class, what neighborhood you live in….it does not matter! Bullying sees no borders and only victims that it can prey upon to give itself more power.

Bullying occurs when an individual or group repetitively attempts to harm someone who appears weaker to them. It involves name calling, teasing, taunting and even hitting. When the attacks are indirect, rumors may be spread to reject that person. There are serious long-term effects if this is not addressed quickly like suicide and mental and emotional pain.

Here are some alarming facts per Stop Bullying Now Foundation Inc. showing the overall outlook of the long term effects of bullying upon a society:

1. 60% of middle school students say that they have been bullied, while 16% of staff believes that students are bullied.
2. 160,000 students stay home from school every day due to bullying. (NEA)
3. A bully is 6 times more likely to be incarcerated by the age of 24.
4. A bully is 5 times more likely to have a serious criminal record when he grows up.
5. 2/3 of students who are targets become bullies.
6. 20% of all children say they have been bullied.
7. 20% of high school students say they have seriously considered suicide within the last 12 months.
8. 25% of students say that teachers intervened in bullying incidents while 71% of teachers say they intervened.
9. The average child has watched 8,000 televised murders and 100,000 acts of violence before finishing elementary school.
10. In schools where there are anti-bullying programs, bullying is reduced by 50%.
11. Bullying was a factor in 2/3 of the 37 school shootings reviewed by the US Secret Service.
12. According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety Health (NIOSH) (Sauter, et al.,1990), there is a loss of employment amounting to $19 billion and a drop in productivity of $3 billion due to workplace bullying.
13. Law enforcement costs related to bullying are enormous.  Since 1999, the Office on Violence against Women (OVW) has spent $98 million in assistance to address campus sexual violence.

Due to this rising epidemic, Uniform Advantage designed a scrub print to help spread awareness and help engage people in discussions to pay more attention to this serious trend. We partnered with Stop Bullying Now Foundation Inc this Fall 2015 and will be donating $1 from the sale of each “No More Bullying White” scrub prints towards education about bullying and fighting this epidemic growing in schools. The total donation will amount to over $3,000.

About Stop Bullying Now Foundation Inc.

Bullying among children K-12 is now considered the number one death which affects over 22 million children per year (one in four children). Lowell Levine, CEO and Founder of the Stop Bullying Now Foundation started this organization in 2012 to start contributing to putting an end to this epidemic by helping both the bullies and the children being bullied through awareness, counseling, life skills training, open communication and all creative outlets. To accomplish this vision, they provide access to Professional Speakers and Mental Health Counselors from surrounding communities. 100% of the money they raise from all donations/support goes directly to “Educate Bullying Awareness.”

This month is National Bullying Prevention Month. Let’s spread awareness, be alert to the warning signs and show more kindness to being about serious change!