News

NATIONAL BULLYING CAMPAIGN FEATURES ZACH VEACH AS KEY SPOKESPERSON
Cyber Safety Academy's Newest Campaign Urges a Stand Against Cyberbullying

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (October 4, 2011) – The Cyber Safety Academy announced today auto-racer Zach Veach as a spokesperson for its new campaign the Great American NO BULL Challenge alongside anti-bullying blogger Nicole Marie Edgington and author Zoe Oz (daughter of Dr. Mehmet Oz). The anti-bullying campaign is the first youth-led program built to give students a voice on the subject of bullying. Veach will help lead the campaign to challenge students, teachers, parents, and the media to take a stand against cyberbullying.

"Inspiring America's teens to stand up and come together against online bullying is what the Great American NO BULL Challenge is all about," said Edgington, the founder of The Great American NO BULL Challenge, a cyberbullying prevention expert and the bestselling author of The Parent's Guide to Texting, Facebook and Social Media.

The Great American NO BULL Challenge is a national platform that gives middle and high school students the opportunity to produce anti-bullying videos for a national competition. Winners will be recognized as celebrities at an elaborate NO BULL Red Carpet Awards event on July 21, 2012 in San Francisco. Videos may be submitted at: www.nobullchallenge.org from January 15-March 15, 2012.

The addition of Veach, named on of CNN's "Intriguing People," to the NO BULL Challenge is no surprise given his track record of giving back. Earlier this year he published his first book 99 THINGS TEENS WISH THEY KNEW BEFORE TURNING 16, a youth-helping-youth endeavor, with an appearance on NBC's The Today Show. One of the significant issues discussed in the book was the topic of bullying.

"I was bullied growing up and I want to do anything I can to make sure other kids don't have to go through the same things I did," said Veach, who is appearing in the campaign on behalf of the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS), the longest standing premier youth health and safety coalition in the United States. "It was important for me to join in this effort to continue to relay the message that bullying is not ok."

each, 16, is one of the youngest licensed race car drivers in the country, competing for Andretti Autosport in INDYCAR's "Mazda Road to Indy" developmental ladder system. Named by ESPN The Magazine as a NEXT athlete in the motorsports space and a finalist for Sports Illustrated's "Sports Kid of the Year" award, Veach took two race wins and three pole positions to capture the 2011 Cooper Tires presents the USF2000 Winterfest Championship and opened his first full-season in USF2000 with a win from the pole position. Veach impressively finished within the top-10 in all of his races this season, which led to his team, Andretti Autosport, to advance Veach up the ladder for two events in the Star Mazda Championship Series where he placed third in only his second race.

The Great American NO BULL Challenge was launched this month as the largest campaign against cyberbullying in the history of the United States. Strategic partnerships involved in the campaign collectively reach nearly every household in the country with a total reach of 134 million individuals. Winning videos and footage from the awards event will all be combined to create several PSA's that will be aired nationally. Additionally, a 25-minute school assembly program will be created out of products of the event.

Along with Zoe Oz and Nicole Edgington, Zach Veach's passion for this detrimental social issue will be a key asset to the campaign as it lifts off in the winter months.