STUDENTS STAND UP! COAST 2 COAST FOR BULLYING AWARENESS WEEK

Family Channel Special Programming, Live Chats and Online Resources Promote Bullying Prevention, November 15-21

TORONTO, Nov. 15 /CNW/ - Family Channel is encouraging students across Canada to take a stand against bullying with the launch of the eighth annual Bullying Awareness Week. The Stand UP! campaign, will see the network air bullying-themed episodes of Family shows including a brand new episode of Wingin' It premiering Friday, November 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT followed by the network premiere of the movie How to Eat Fried Worms at 8 p.m. Full details of the special schedule is available at Family.ca/standup10.

Premiering today, short documentaries following the Stand UP! Coast 2 Coast tour will air across the Family schedule. Featuring the four schools selected for a Stand UP! rally, the documentaries, hosted by Overruled!'s Jacob Kraemer, include musical guests Lindsay Hamilton and Saveria. Rally locations were decided by a contest which saw over 480 kids enter to win a rally for their school by telling Family what they did to Stand UP! The winning schools were:

• Cardigan Consolidated School; Cardigan, Prince Edward Island
• Altona Forest Public School; Pickering, Ontario
• Dr. L.M. Hanna Elementary School; Regina, Saskatchewan
• John Henderson Elementary; Vancouver, British Columbia

Students in each school enjoyed musical performances, a sneak peek of the special Wingin' It episode plus a facilitated discussion about the issues raised in the episode by a representative from PREVNet, a national network of Canadian researchers and community organizations committed to ending bullying. The Stand UP! Coast 2 Coast documentaries follow Jacob as he takes the Stand UP! message to schools across Canada and meets students determined to make a change in their communities.

"By visiting schools nationwide, we've seen firsthand an overwhelming response from Canadian youth who are inspired and committed to taking a stand against bullying," said Joe Tedesco, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Family Channel. "This year's Stand UP! campaign has been fuelled by students who want to make their voices heard. By working with our dedicated partners at PREVNet, as well as our talented musical guests involved in this year's Stand UP! tour, we are proving successful in providing a message that resonates with students."

Online, the Stand UP! minisite on Family.ca features bullying prevention tip sheets, educator's guides devised by PREVNet and message boards. Visitors to the site will be able to stream the Stand UP! Coast 2 Coast documentaries as well the special Stand UP! music videos for the three Stand UP! tracks recorded by Nikki Yanofsky, Lindsay Hamilton and Saveria.

New this year, Family Channel will be hosting two live online chats on Friday, November 19 to generate discussion about bullying and discuss ways to tackle the issue. Dr. Joanne Cummings, Partnership Director at PREVNet and Clinical Child Psychologist at Blueballoon, and singer Lindsay Hamilton will be on hand to discuss their own experiences with bullying and respond to student's questions and concerns. The chats will run from 2:30 - 4 p.m. ET, giving schools the opportunity to work the chat into their class schedule, and from 7 - 8:30 p.m. ET, surrounding the premiere of Wingin' It.

Family Channel co-founded Bullying Awareness Week in 2003 and developed the Stand UP! campaign in association with PREVNet (Promoting Relationships and Eliminating Violence), a national network of Canadian researchers, community organizations and governments committed to ending bullying and promoting positive relationships (www.prevnet.ca).

About PREVNet
PREVNet (The Promoting Relationships and Eliminating Violence Network) is a leading global network of researchers and organizations that work together to promote healthy relationships and prevent bullying. Founded by leading Canadian researchers Dr. Wendy Craig, Professor Department of Psychology, Queen's University, and Dr. Debra Pepler, Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology, York University., PREVNet is a new initiative of the Networks of Centres of Excellence, and comprises researchers and graduate students from over 21 universities in 11 disciplines working in collaboration with over 49 organizations in the fields of education, health, community, recreation, media, youth and industry. PREVNet's vision is that one day everyone will live, learn, play and work in safe and healthy relationships.  

Family Channel is a premium, commercial-free network offering the best in family television entertainment in over 6 million homes across Canada. Dedicated to celebrating family life and providing a fun experience for all, Family airs a unique mix of series, movies and specials, with a large portion of programming supplied by Disney. Family Channel also offers Family OnDemand in select areas, a Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) service that features hit Disney movies and series, top-rated Canadian series and Playhouse Disney programming, and Family OnLine, a broadband service offered to Bell TV subscribers. Visit us at Family.ca.

Family Channel is a member of the Astral family. Astral is one of Canada's largest media companies. It operates more than 100 of the country's most popular pay and specialty television, radio, out-of-home advertising and digital media properties. Astral plays a central role in community life across the country by offering diverse, rich and vibrant programming that meets the tastes and needs of consumers and advertisers. To learn more about Astral, visit astral.com.

For further information:

For artwork and campaign information, visit http://tv.astral.com
For interview requests, photos or additional information please contact:

Jaime Werby at 416-956-8547 or [email protected]
Kate Dickson at 416-956-8584 or [email protected]