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Cloverdale teen's anti-bullying wristbands remind youth there is safety in numbers, while raising money for Kids Help Phone

A Cloverdale teenager is hoping that people with "swag" will take a stand against bullying.

Siena Stampacchia, 14, has started an anti-bullying campaign called S.W.A.G., short for Safe With A Group. The ninth grader designed wristbands bearing the acronym as a way to show victims of bullying that they have support, and to remind and encourage others to stand up for people being bullied.

"By wearing these wristbands, it's telling the person who's being bullied that you're there for them, that they can come to you for comfort, for help, anything like that," said the Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary student. "It helps them feel more protected in a group with other people instead of being isolated."

Stampacchia was inspired to create the wristbands after growing tired of witnessing bullying first-hand and hearing about it in the news.

"Seeing bullying in schools, and now a lot on cyberbullying on the internet and everything, I just thought it would be a good way to make a change, make an effort to try and stop or prevent bullying," she said.

She was also influenced by the story of Amanda Todd, a Port Coquitlam teen who committed suicide in October as a result of years of being harassed in school and online.

"With Amanda Todd, it kind of went through our whole family talking about it at the table," said Stampacchia. "After she committed suicide, everybody on social media was like, 'Oh, I would have been there, I would have helped her.'

"I think a lot of people in high school would help, but they just don't have that confidence or don't have that feeling that they should just go and do it. They second-guess themselves, but with the wristbands, when you see that bullying, you remind yourself and you go and help them."

The abbreviation S.W.A.G. came from some brainstorm sessions with her friends. "Swag" is a popular term among high schoolers as a synonym for style, and after telling her friends about her idea for the campaign, S.W.A.G. resonated with her peers.

"I was wondering what words we could have used and 'swag' has been going around in high schools a lot," she said. "My friend, she spitballed that idea and we played around with it and came up with 'Safe With A Group.'"

Stampacchia said it's important for influential members of any school's social hierarchy - such as class presidents, team captains and student council members - to show their intolerance for bullying.

She also said that intervening in a bullying situation can be as non-violent and simple as standing with the victim to show your support.

Her mother, Tami Colclough, said that while her daughter has never had problems with bullies, standing up for others is in her nature.

"This is really who she is and it doesn't surprise me that she created this initiative," said Colclough. "I've seen her, as a little girl, do this where if she feels that somebody is being bullied, she'll quite often step in and say, 'Don't treat them that way.'

"I'm really proud of her. She came up with it on her own and ran with the concept."

Colclough added that each wristband comes with a slip of paper bearing the S.W.A.G. call to action: "I will not be silent; I will be your voice. I will not hide in the crowd; I will stand with you. I will not reject you; I will include you. I am not a bully; I am your friend."

Over the last two weeks, London Drugs started selling the wristbands at locations in Surrey and Langley, and have since expanded to 25 stores in British Columbia and Alberta. The wristbands cost $3 and all proceeds go to the Kids Help Phone, an anonymous hotline for children and youth in need of someone to talk to about bullying or other issues.

For more information about Kids Help Phone, visit kidshelpphone.ca, or to speak to a counsellor, call 1-800-668-6868.