Kids Don’t Need Another Reminder to “Be Kind”
They Need to Know What to Do When Someone Isn’t
Act Like You Matter equips kids and teens with youth-informed, actionable tools to navigate bullying, mistreatment, and peer negativity without allowing someone else to define who they are.
Know your worth. Find your voice. Stay true to yourself. Become who you’re meant to be.
Most Organizations Ask, “How Do We Stop the Few?”
We Ask, “How Do We Activate the Many?”
We believe the key to ending bullying isn’t found by simply asking people to be kind. The answer is equipping the many kids and teens who want things to change, particularly those who are targeted by mistreatment or who witness it and know it’s wrong, with tools that help them discover the power they already have to do something about it.
We also believe the best solutions come from listening to the kids and teens navigating today’s peer culture and the pressures that shape it. That’s why our tools and strategies are youth-informed: developed in collaboration with young people and based on what they say actually works.
How We Reach Kids & Teens
And the Parents, Educators, and Other Adults Who Support Them
Baffle Away Bullying! Interactive Video Workshop for K-3rd
Give young students something more useful than “be kind”: Actionable Skills!
This no-prep, interactive video workshop uses relatable teen actors to teach kids a simple 3-step strategy for what to say and do when they encounter rude, mean, or bullying behavior.
16 short, flexible segments of 1-4 minutes each make it easy to use in the classroom, at an after-school program, with a group, or at home.
Bring Baffle Away Bullying to Life: Licensable Scripts
Bring Baffle Away Bullying! to your school, classroom, youth group, or organization with a ready-to-use script that teaches young students practical strategies for responding to rude, mean, and bullying behavior.
Choose the version that works for you: perform the play for an audience or read it together in the classroom.
Peer-to-Peer Virtual Interactive Workshops
Free, research-backed virtual workshops designed and run by tweens & teens from our Youth Advisory Board that give young people a place to talk, ask questions, learn from each other’s experiences, and explore a wide variety of topics and challenges related to growing up.
Topics include mental and emotional health, discovering your purpose and passion, building resilience and self-esteem, and being true to yourself in a world where there’s constant pressure to conform and fit in with what’s viewed as “normal.”
Free Tools & Resources
Practical tools and strategies for kids and teens, available wherever they live and whenever they need them.
Explore resource videos, self-help worksheets and workbooks, empowering social media content, submit a question to get peer feedback & advice, and more designed to help young people navigate challenges, know they’re not alone in what they’re experiencing, and discover things they can do to help themselves, even in situations where they might feel powerless.
Bullying Resilience Coaching
Personalized coaching for kids, teens, parents, and caregivers focused on building resilience and self-esteem so young people can deflect, rather than internalize, the negativity of others.
Work one-on-one with Founder Amy Jones Anichini to discover practical tools for navigating mistreatment, staying true to yourself, and taking back control of your life and happiness.
Bullying Prevention Consulting for Schools
Improve school climate from BOTH directions: the top down (school staff → students) AND the bottom up (students → peers).
Work with Founder Amy Jones Anichini to develop new ways to reduce incidents of bullying behavior, improve peer relationships, and strengthen school climate.
Consulting can include creating or updating bullying and harassment policies, establishing clear reporting procedures and behavior expectations, and mentoring student leaders to set the example for positive, respectful peer communication on campus.
Spread Messages That Matter: Designed to Inspire. Meant to Be Seen.
We’re not your typical retailer! Shop empowering apparel and wall decor, with every design created by members of Act Like You Matter’s Youth Advisory Board.
Every purchase covers the cost of creating your item and includes a contribution that supports our nonprofit work.
Act Like You Matter Mission:
To equip kids and teens with youth-informed tools that empower them to:
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Know their worth,
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Find their voice, and
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Rise above bullying and other forms of mistreatment
So they can:
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Become who they’re meant to be and
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Create lasting change in their schools, communities, and the world.
Rude vs. Mean vs. Bullying
The tools we teach can be used with ANY of these behaviors
Rude Behavior
Inadvertently saying or doing something that hurt someone else. (Source: PsychologyToday.com)
Being rough in manner or behavior. Harsh. Ungentle. (Source: dictionary.com)
Rude behavior is not intended to cause harm to another person.
Mean Behavior
Purposefully saying or doing something to hurt someone once (or maybe twice). (Source: PsychologyToday.com)
Main difference from rude behavior: Mean behavior is intentional & strives to hurt another person.
Bullying Behavior
Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. (Source: StopBullying.gov)
Main differences from mean behavior: Bullying behavior is repeated & involves an imbalance of power (real or perceived).
People ask us all the time what the difference is between rude, mean, and bullying behavior. While it’s important to define and understand these behaviors, we don’t believe kids should have to wait until mistreatment meets the definition of bullying before they have tools to respond to it.
The strategies and life skills we teach can be used when encountering ANY of these negative behaviors, whether someone is rude once, deliberately mean, or repeatedly targets you over time.
You have more power than you realize!
What Students & Educators Say About
Baffle Away Bullying
Great program! The way you acted out specific examples in skits is very effective to show kids the impact their words and actions can have on others. Thank you so much!
My favorite thing was that the show was run by kids!
My students were engaged the whole time! After it was over you could hear them talking about the strategies and how they planned to use them. Excellent program!
My favorite character was Robert because he learned some lessons and decided to stop bullying.
With Gratitude to Our Supporters
Special thanks to The Art Pratt Foundation of Old Mission Rotary for their extraordinary generosity
The Art Pratt Foundation of Old Mission Rotary • Michael H. Holzman • Gina Purlia & Kent Johnson Family Trust • Michael Anichini • Christene Campbell-Renner • Mikuteit Family Trust • The Shaughnessy Family • Carol Jones • Tom & Amy Jones Anichini • The Byrne Family • Angela Assensi Ford • The Barrett Family • Kendra Scott • Bob, Parker & Jeff Foxworth • One Love Movement • Mordesovich-Chase Family Charitable Gift Fund • David & Deb Morris • The Maltzman Family • Retail Therapy Boutique & Spa • Vera Mikuteit • Anne Collins • Keri & Cathie Smith • Andrea Hester • Karen Halle • Debbie Ditter • Christene Read • Gina Purlia • Be Like You • Holly Lamond • Tracy Mikuta • Nancy Stevens • Barbara Gordon • Fran Dickenson • Martine Naar • Lawrence Rakers • Jeff Fang • Chris Schwarzkopf • The Belczak Family • The Lemon Family • Joe & Rosemary Anichini • Sharla Mandere • The Perry Family • Emley & Travis Sowell • The Coffey Family • Jonathan Morris • Kathleen Fyffe • Darlene Ryan • Liz Collins • The Rosen Family • Kathryn Freemond • Elisa Slobodow • Phoebe Katsell • The Ganta Family • Rick Mordesovich • Ellen Stover • Nancy Sullivan • Robyn Weir Ruterbusch • Debra Rodebaugh • Heidi Cooper Henson • Mary Randall Rank • Michele Fortin • Shagg Makino • Janet Larson • Karen Coleman • Charles Hall • Hanna Samson • Francisco Oliveros • The Anichini-Schaal Family • Susie Elitzky • Chrystal Solsbak • Laura Pease • Alex Green • Katie James • Carrie Rossenfeld • Erik Hom • Mohan Honnavalli Schamachar • Kim Snare • Bill Payne • Michele Walters • Laura Walters • Vaishali Keswani • Bob & Betsy Cooper • Guoxin Jin • Stacey Glass Schell • Edie Lack Tarter • Laura Smith Derouin • Roseanne Pastorek Belczak • James Lange • Cheryl Lawrence • Brandy Summers • Christina Whalen • Lisa Cavanaugh • Terri Whitehead
We Believe in the Power of Young People
Real change in the way kids and teens treat each other has to come from them. They have immense capacity to reach each other and connect in ways that adults just can’t. That’s why everything we teach is informed by kids and teens and incorporates what they say actually works in navigating peer dynamics.
The result is a fundamentally different approach to bullying prevention: One that empowers young people to spark the change themselves – a groundswell from the bottom up that demonstrates how they expect to be treated by their peers.
That’s what Act Like You Matter is all about.
Know your worth. Find your voice. Stay true to yourself. Become who you’re meant to be. Make your own unique impact.
YOU Matter!