Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) May 15, 2015
On May 7, 2015, twelve-year-old Amber Rose Caudel, Everett, WA, committed suicide after being relentlessly bullied at school and online. On April 3, 2015, twelve-year-old Nicole Morgan, Pleasant Hill, IA, ended her life after constant bullying from her classmates.*
Kirk and Laura Smalley, who founded Stand for the Silent after the suicide death of their eleven-year-old son Ty, a victim of bullying, issued the following statement about these horrific bullying-related suicides:
“We are so very heartbroken to hear about losing these children as a result of bullying-related suicides. We want to send our condolences and prayers to the families of Amber and Nicole, both of who were bullied and took their own lives because of it. Our hearts are with those who knew and loved them and we will fight as hard as we can to stop this from ever happening to any more children. This week marks the five year angelversary of losing our son Ty to bullying. Please everyone: get involved, help us raise awareness and spread the message that bullying and youth suicide must stop.” Kirk continues, “Don't wait until it happens to someone you know or to someone you love. This is preventable but we all need to work together.”
According to Kirk Smalley, “The current statistics are shocking. One in every four kids in America will actually have a plan devised on how to take his or her own life before graduating high school. We have to find a way to continue spreading our message and make this stop.”
Stand for the Silent is an organization that exposes the grim reality of bullying and its devastating consequences. Stand for the Silent is also a platform for Kirk and Laura to share their story and offer education and tools that will hopefully prevent their tragedy from happening to another family.
Since May 2010, Kirk and Laura Smalley have traveled to over a thousand schools and have spoken with more than 1,000,000 kids and teens. In March 2011, Kirk and Laura met privately with President Obama and the First Lady to discuss bullying before attending the first ever White House conference on this issue. The Smalley’s story is prominently featured in the critically-acclaimed documentary Bully.
To highlight the urgency of the bullying epidemic and to commemorate the five-year anniversary of Ty Smalley’s suicide on May 13, 2010, Stand for the Silent recently launched an anti-bullying PSA campaign featuring WWE legend Roddy Piper. Its goal is to help raise awareness among parents and youth about bullying and bully-related suicides. Piper, an outspoken opponent of bullying, immediately volunteered to help Kirk and Laura Smalley’s cause.
“The numbers are staggering. In the past seven years, over 55,000 children have taken their own lives because they were bullied--that’s 22 youth suicides every day”, says Piper. “The goal of this campaign is to raise awareness about our global bullying epidemic.” Regarding the deaths of Amber Rose Caudel and Nicole Morgan, Piper quotes, “I’m unbelievably saddened by the tragic loss of Amber and Nicole and my sincerest condolences go out to their families in their time of need. No twelve-year-old child should ever feel like they’re put in the position where suicide is even a consideration let alone an option. We need to make the bullying stop!”
Kirk and Laura Smalley encourage you to visit standforthesilent.org to learn more about the prevention of bully-related suicides, and to get involved. HD and SD versions of the anti-bullying PSAs are available upon request for broadcast, cable and online use.
:30 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5XHGCroHjY
:60 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KGxpEQMeB4
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For interview requests please contact Adam Opitz, adam(at)theagencies(dot)net
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Kirk Smalley, CEO and Founder
Stand for the Silent
Email: kirk(at)standforthesilent(dot)org
Adam Opitz, Producer, VP Marketing & Sales
The Agency Advertising Group
Phone: (626)844-0022: Email: adam(at)theagencies(dot)net
*http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/05/12/everett-washington-bullying-suicide/27160975/ USA Today May 12, 2015, http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/education/2015/04/29/se-polk-student-committed-suicide-bullied-mom-says/26599367/ The Des Moines Register April 29, 2015
