TEXAS – (Sept. 12, 2022) David’s Legacy Foundation (DLF) is proud to announce the launch of its partnership with The UGLI Foundation, founded by TV host and reporter, Angela Garcia, with support of her husband, professional golfer Sergio Garcia. Together, the organizations hope to encourage young people to become Unique, Gifted, Loved, Individual (UGLI) Student Ambassadors with skills to take a stand against bullying. Through this new partnership, DLF and UGLI will work together to empower Texan teens and tweens to take a personal role in fostering a positive school climate through healthy peer relationships.
“We are excited to partner with the David’s Legacy Foundation. They’ve paved the way by addressing bullying through years of hard work with the Texas state legislature. With the encouragement of family, friends and our many supporters, we’ve made it our mission to fight to end bullying forever. Texas is the first step for The UGLI Foundation and we are working hard to spread our message of kindness across our beautiful country and the rest of this incredible world” said The UGLI Foundation Founder, Angela Garcia.
The UGLI Foundation’s vision is to end all bullying through love, encouragement, and optimism. They aim to use their personal experiences with bullying to create networks of healing to combat harmful actions. David’s Legacy Foundation was founded in honor of David Bartlett Molak, a 16-year-old who took his own life after relentless bullying. David’s family has spent the last six years honoring his memory by working with legislators to pass significant laws in Texas to address bullying, suicide, mental health and digital citizenship. In 2017, “David’s Law” went into effect, opening doors for DLF to work with schools across the state to address bullying and cyberbullying.
The National Center for Education Statistics has shown that instances of bullying and cyberbullying are still on the rise. Recent statistics show that about 22% of teenagers are bullied at school and over 60% of teenagers have experienced cyberbullying online. The numbers are still growing which is why students need school-based bullying prevention programs now more than ever. They have proven that these programs are effective, decreasing occurrences of bullying by 25%. Both organizations agree that the announcement for this collaboration couldn’t have come at a better time.
“This partnership is a win-win for both our organizations,” said David’s Legacy Foundation Founder Maurine Molak. “DLF’s work in Texas schools provides the opportunity to encourage students to become UGLI ambassadors. It will give them a voice in their schools as they bring important awareness to standing up for others and supporting one another in times of crisis.”
Students who wish to become UGLI Ambassadors are asked to watch a training video, sign an anti-bullying pledge, and take a short quiz. Once they complete those steps, UGLI provides the tools to equip students with the knowledge and materials to spread kindness and help those that have been bullied. The Student Ambassador toolkit and social media collateral has been crafted by the UGLI team alongside DLF and school counselors to provide students with concise and helpful tips. The toolkit also includes information about Texas’ anti-bullying law “David’s Law”. It provides resources on how students can get help for themselves or others so that we leave no child feeling hopeless in a bullying situation.
Young people who are interested in becoming UGLI Ambassadors can sign up here.
Texas public and charter schools interested in a David’s Legacy Foundation presentation that meets the education code requirements for bullying prevention instruction per §37.0832 can request one here.
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About David’s Legacy Foundation
David’s Legacy Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is to eliminate all forms of bullying and cyberbullying of children and teens, through education, legislation, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.davidslegacy.org
About the UGLI Foundation
The UGLI Foundation is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to end bullying. Forever. By changing the very definition of the word ugly, our goal is to make the world a kinder place where each person is now Unique, Gifted, Loved, and Individual. The UGLI Foundation offers an array of bullying awareness and prevention programs including UGLI Student Ambassadors that empower students to take a stand against bullying, UGLI Spaces, UGLI Chats and other programs promoting anti-bullying. For more information, visit http://theuglifoundation.org