Bullying Author Launches Online Mentoring Program On Kickstarter

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Aug. 1, 2014 - PRLog -- Grand Rapids, MI, August 1, 2014 – Tom Thelen, creator of the Victimproof Anti-Bullying Program, launched a Kickstarter campaign today to fund an online mentoring program for bullied students. Thelen claims to know the #1 way to end bullying. The solution, he says, is to stop focusing on the bullies and start focusing on the victims. “Most anti-bullying programs don’t work because they create a victim mindset in students,” said Thelen. “So we have to go beyond the old message of “Don’t be a bully!” and start providing real solutions that actually help victims overcome bullying in a positive way.” Thelen’s solution is to start an online mentoring program for students based on his book, Victimproof: The Student’s Guide to End Bullying. The book comes with a 30 part anti-bullying video curriculum created by Thelen that will provide the basis for the online mentoring program. Learn how you can help at Victimproof .com.

According to Thelen, being “victimproof” (a made up word) means understanding that bullies don’t have to control your mind, and that you can respond to bullies respectfully, without giving them power over you. “I always tell students that you can’t control whether or not you get bullied, but you can control whether or not you become a victim. In other words, you might get bullied, but you don’t have to be a victim. That’s up to you,” said Thelen. And he should know; as a student, Thelen was a victim of bullying. He felt trapped in the bullying cycle and began struggling in school. Thankfully, one teacher stepped in when Thelen was 15. With her help, he entered a counseling program for troubled teens. That was the catalyst that changed Thelen’s life. He learned how to “Be the change” in the world, a concept popularized by Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

Today, students know Tom Thelen as one of America’s top anti-bullying speakers. He travels with his wife and kids to over 100 schools every year presenting his message of Be The Change. “As a kid, I was always ashamed of being bullied, so I kept it a secret. I never dreamed the thing that used to hurt me would ultimately become the thing that enables me to help others,” he said. Thelen’s program provides help for bullied students and the hope that they too can become “victimproof.” Learn more about Thelen’s Anti-Bullying Kickstarter Campaign at Victimproof .com.

ABOUT TOM THELEN
Tom Thelen, creator of the Victimproof Anti-Bullying Program, is one of America’s top anti-bullying speakers. He has spoken at over 500 schools, colleges, and youth organizations teaching students how to break free from the victim mindset and how to stand up to bullying. Tom’s message takes students on a journey through his own life story – a normal “face in the crowd” kid who never struggled with drugs or alcohol, but instead lived with a victim mindset. Thankfully one teacher stepped in and helped him break free from the bullying cycle. Today, Tom speaks at schools and youth conferences across America showing students how to “BE THE CHANGE!”

FOR INTERVIEWS CONTACT
Tom Thelen, creator of the Victimproof Anti-Bullying Program
tom@tomthelen.com | 269-804-9149 (cell)
www.TomThelen.com