No child should be prevented from safety and peace of mind at school just because their school can’t afford the most effective technology.
(PRWEB) January 15, 2014
Schaumburg, Illinois: Nine students’ lives were saved last year in Douglas County, Colorado, thanks to the school system’s use of new, anonymous and instantaneous 2-way communications technology. Many schools across the U.S., however, cannot afford the kind of anonymous anti-bullying technology which allows kids to report a bullying incident or a safety threat without getting identified.
So Sagient Technologies, a data security technology distributor based in Schaumburg, Illinois, is spearheading a crowd funding campaign called Vote To Stop Bullying (http://www.gofundme.com/votetostopbullying) to provide this technology to the schools of 1 million U.S. students at no charge. Sagient is also matching every dollar donated in order to double the impact of each individual donation.
With Sagient's matching funds, each dollar donated to Vote To Stop Bullying provides two students with this technology for an entire year. The usual cost for this type of anonymous technology is about $2.50 per student. But in order to reach as many students as possible, the company is providing the school communications technology at 99 cents per student - plus doubling its impact by donating dollar-for-dollar matching funds.
"As the owner of a technology distributorship, I'm in a unique position to provide children a reliable, anonymous platform to reach out for help, speak up, and speak out about bullying and school crime - without fear of retaliation," says Paul Radke, president and CEO of Sagient Technologies.
"My company has worked with schools since 2009 to implement Internet filtering and data security solutions which protect school networks, students, faculty, and staff from harmful online content," he continues, stating that a recurring theme while working with these schools is lack of budget. "Many schools would love this technology for their students, but they can’t afford it. With Vote to Stop Bullying, a $10 donation protects an entire class of 20 students for an entire school year."
The instant, anonymous 2-way technology is already proven in Colorado and around the U.S.: Out of 600,000 students covered in one year, a total of 10,554 reports were submitted, including 3,495 bullying cases, 1,350 drug/alcohol reports, 1,274 suicide interventions, 792 threats of violence, 662 sexually related crimes, 385 cutting reports, 317 guns/weapons reports, and 102 planned school attack reports. More information about the technology can be found at Sagient's website at http://sagienttech.com/tipsoft-anti-bullying-school-communications/.
Donors are welcome to submit names of schools or school districts they know which are in need of this type of technology, or the names of schools they'd like their donation to go to at http://www.gofundme.com/votetostopbullying, or by calling 866-258-9087. Recipient schools must be U.S.-based K-12 or higher education, public or private.
Radke says that Vote To Stop Bullying's $1 million goal is comprised of the expected $500,000 in individual donations plus $500,000 in matching funds from Sagient Technologies. Every dollar raised for Vote To Stop Bullying goes entirely toward the purchase of licensing for schools, minus fees for credit card processing and the gofundme.com platform. No portion of donations is used for advertising, publicity, fundraising, or compensation.
To make this technology easier to obtain for schools outside of the 1 million slated student recipients, Sagient Technologies charges nothing for implementation, training, or support (normally $500+) and 99 cents per student (normally $2.50). On sales of other data security products to schools, Sagient returns all of its yearly licensing commissions minus a fee capped at 15% or $1000, whichever is less. Additionally, the company donates 5% of all of its non-school technology sales to Vote to Stop Bullying.
For more information, go to http://sagienttech.com/school-data-security/vote-to-stop-bullying/ or contact Paul Radke at 866-258-9087.
