News Canada - Kids and celebrities across Canada getting ready to stand up to bullying

(NC)—We all know that bullying is a critical issue for young Canadians, but just after noon ET on November 20, schools across Canada will join with television stars and take part in an unprecedented effort to stand up to bullying together. Literally.

As part of Family Channel's annual Bullying Awareness Week campaign, this year the kids network is asking students in schools from coast to coast to do the wave together in one mass coordinated effort.

Why the wave? According to Family Channel star Ashley Leggat, who has shared her personal experiences with bullying with thousands of young Canadians during Bullying Awareness Week events, the wave is a fun activity that also functions as an effective metaphor for the power of young people to work together to achieve a common goal.

“If you've done the wave at a sporting event, you know it only works if everyone stands up together – the same goes with putting an end to bullying,” said Leggat, star of hit TV series Life With Derek, which is currently being turned into a TV movie, Vacation With Derek. “Like many kids, I was bullied when I was younger. And like many kids, I thought I was alone and that it was just happening to me. I'm hopeful that by standing up as one, young people will know that they're all in this together, and that they have the power to put an end to bullying.”

Leggat is joined by other famous young Canadians who are passionate about bullying prevention, including co-star Michael Seater, the cast of popular series The Latest Buzz, and Nico Archambault. Archambault will also appear in Vacation With Derek and is known to millions of young Canadians for winning season one of So You Think You Can Dance Canada.

“As someone who was bullied growing up, I know first-hand how important it is to stand up for your friends and classmates,” said Archambault, who in addition to appearing at Bullying Awareness Week has designed a t-shirt for purchase, with proceeds from all sales going to support PREVNet, a Canadian research organization specializing in bullying prevention. “Standing up requires courage, but it's important for young people to know that their efforts will make a difference.”

Students can purchase the Archambault-designed t-shirt and take part in the wave by signing up their school at www.family.ca. Schools who sign up before October 16 will see their name listed on the Family website and also on Family Channel during the wave effort. The wave will happen on November 20, immediately following a special presentation of a bullying-prevention themed episode of The Latest Buzz (9:30 a.m. PT, 12:30 p.m. ET – consult your local listings for the correct time in your province).

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Kids and celebrities across Canada getting ready to stand up to bullying

Nico Archambault from So You Think You Can Dance Canada joins Family Channel celebrities taking part in nation-wide wave effort on November 20, 2009