Our News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – OCT. 5, 2017

Media Contacts:
Seattle Public Schools: Kim Schmanke, 206-252-0203 (desk), kaschmanke@seattleschools.org
iCanHelpline.org: Anne Collier, 650-458-7948, annecollier@gmail.com
Google: Sam Leeds, 415-342-9923, sleeds@cplusc.com

TO MARK NATIONAL BULLYING PREVENTION MONTH, SEATTLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND ICANHELPLINE PARTNER TO REDUCE CYBERBULLYING

Through a Google grant, iCanHelpline.org, the new social media helpline for schools, will provide Seattle Schools with help in addressing online harassment

SEATTLE—[October 5, 2017]——As part of National Bullying Prevention Month, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) and iCanHelpline.org today announced the launch of a year-long pilot program and partnership to provide schools another tool to address online harassment, intimidation and bullying of students.
This pilot is made possible through a Google grant, which will give 40+ SPS middle and high schools access to email or call the helpline toll-free for assistance with social media in schools, specifically navigating apps and services, reporting abuse, and addressing harassment, cyberbullying, and other harmful content.

School and district personnel will receive:

• Toll-free and email access to help when social media incidents happen
• Research-based social media advice for smart, restorative incident response
• Help with navigating apps, reporting abuse and working with students to resolve cyberbullying problems on social media
• Assistance through the helpline’s contacts at Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Kik, Tumblr and other apps that are popular with students.

“We want our schools to be safe places that foster positive change and growth for all of our young people,” said Tina Meade, SPS student civil rights compliance officer. “It is part of all of our responsibility, as educators, parents and community members, to help students learn how to interact with each other with respect and civility, and how to build resiliency in the face of adversity.”

The pilot program is part of an integrated district approach to keeping students safe from harassment, intimidation and bullying.

“With 92 percent of US teens online daily, 24 percent ‘almost constantly,’ and about a third having experienced cyberbullying, schools need and deserve help when problems turn up in social media,” said iCanHelpline founder Anne Collier. “The helpline is social media intelligence and take-down help for school incident response.”
Google has supported the development of iCanHelpline as a resource for schools, including financial support of the nonprofit’s initial pilot, and its statewide deployment throughout California last year.

“We all use the web to learn, play, and communicate, and students are no exception,” said Darcy Nothnagle, head of external affairs for the NW at Google. “We’re proud to support iCanHelpline as a resource for Seattle schools to help keep kids safe online.”
Access to iCanHelpline.org is limited to school or district staff. Links to emergency and specialized help services and school social media resources are available to everyone, 24/7, at iCanHelpline.org by clicking on “Resources” on the home page. The service is made possible through the helpline’s partnerships with social media companies. For more information, visit the SPS website post on the district’s multi-tiered approach to supporting students in this area.

About TNSC: iCanHelpline.org is a project of The Net Safety Collaborative, a Seattle-based national 501c3 nonprofit organization that aims to increase students’ safety by helping schools delete cyberbullying and grow kindness online and offline. TNSC collaborates with California-based national nonprofit #ICANHELP (icanhelpdeletenegativity.org) to grow students’ digital leadership. iCanHelpline, which was recognized in 2016 by the National School Boards Association as part of its Ed Tech Innovation Showcase, was piloted with independent evaluation in 2015-’16 with support from Facebook, Google, Snapchat, Twitter, Yahoo and Digital Trust Foundation.

About Google: Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Google has over 2,900 employees in Washington state in offices in Seattle and Kirkland; since 2011, Google has awarded more than $20 million to nonprofits and schools in Washington state. In 2016, Google generated $8.91B in economic impact for Washington businesses, website publishers and nonprofits and provided $19.7M in free advertising to Washington state nonprofits.

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Our Supporters

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Feb. 15, 2017

Media Contact: Anne Collier, 650.458.7948, anne@netsafetycollaborative.org

ICANHELPLINE.ORG, WHICH HELPS SCHOOLS DELETE CYBERBULLYING, ANNOUNCES LOW-COST SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR SCHOOLS NATIONWIDE

Schools Signing Up by June 1 for the $300/Year Subscription Will Get Help Service through June 2018; Discounts for Full-District Subscriptions

Seattle, WA—The nonprofit Net Safety Collaborative, creator of the U.S.’s first social media helpline for schools, has launched a new subscription service for schools and districts nationwide. Schools can now sign up for the 2017-’18 school year at the low rate of $300/year per school (discounts available to districts subscribing for all their schools). As an “early bird” bonus, schools and districts signing up by this June 1 will receive social media help for the rest of this year as well as the full 2017-’18 school year—an extra 4 months.

What schools get for their $300:

• Toll-free phone and email access to help when social  media incidents happen
• Research-based social media advice for smart, restorative incident response
• Help with navigating apps, reporting abuse and working with students to resolve problems in social media
• Assistance in getting abusive content deleted through the helpline’s contacts at Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Kik, Tumblr and other services.

“Our 2015-’16 pilot showed that we’re meeting a long-standing need of schools on the intervention side of the cyberbullying issue: we help get harmful content deleted,” said TNSC Executive Director and helpline founder Anne Collier. “The helpline also strengthens prevention by growing communication, social media competency and restorative responses in school communities.”

Upon signup, school or district personnel can call iCanHelpline toll-free on school days at (855) 997-0409 or email anytime via help[at]icanhelpline.org. Links to emergency and specialized help services and school social media resources are available to everyone, 24/7, at icanhelpline.org by clicking on “Resources” at the top of any page. The service is made possible through TNSC’s partnerships with social media services. For more, click to https://socialmediahelpline.com.

About TNSC: iCanHelpline.org is a project of The Net Safety Collaborative, a Seattle-based national 501c3 nonprofit organization that aims to increase students’ safety by helping schools delete cyberbullying and grow kindness online and offline. TNSC collaborates with California-based national nonprofit #ICANHELP (icanhelpdeletenegativity.org) to grow students’ digital leadership and awareness of their vital role in effecting positive change online and in school. iCanHelpline was piloted with independent evaluation in 2015-’16 with support from Facebook, Google, Snapchat, Twitter, Yahoo and the Digital Trust Foundation.

Our Supporters

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


March 17, 2016                 

Media Contact: Anne Collier 801.663.6629, anne@icanhelpline.org

ICANHELPLINE.ORG CHOSEN BY THE NATIONAL SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION FOR ITS 2016 TECH INNOVATION SHOWCASE
The U.S.’s First Internet Helpline for Schools Is Recognized for Using Technology to Support Positive Use of Tech and Media in School

SAN JOSE, CA—iCanHelpline.org, the U.S.’s first Internet helpline dedicated to schools, is being honored by the National School Boards Association as one of the six startups in its 2016 Tech Innovation Showcase. The winners will be showcased at the NSBA’s annual convention in Boston, April 9-11.

The social media helpline, which is now being piloted in four states by national nonprofit organizations Net Family News Inc. and #iCANHELP, helps school administrators and educators address school-related problems that show up in social media – problems such as harassment, cyberbullying and inappropriate content. If an issue violates a service’s Terms of Service, the helpline, through its founder’s longstanding relationships with social media companies, can help the content get removed.

“We’re thrilled to receive this confirmation of our valuable service to schools and look forward to expanding the service nationwide next school year,” said Anne Collier, executive director of The Net Safety Collaborative, a collaboration of Net Family News and #iCANHELP.

“We thank the NSBA for helping us help schools address social media problems with the confidence that comes from understanding social media and having tools like the helpline,” said #iCANHELP co-founder and helpline co-creator Matt Soeth.

For this phase of the helpline pilot – the rest of this school year – school personnel in California, Georgia, Washington State and West Virginia can call TNSC’s iCanhelpline toll-free on school days between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Pacific Time at (855) 997-0409 or email anytime at help@icanhelpline.org. The helpline expects to provide help to schools nationwide next school year. Meanwhile, links to emergency and specialized help services and school social media resources are available 24/7 to everyone visiting icanhelpline.org.

iCanHelpline.org has received support from ASKfm, Facebook, Google, Snapchat, Twitter, Yahoo and the Digital Trust Foundation.

Our Supporters

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 17, 2015
Media Contacts: Anne Collier 801.663.6629, anne@netfamilynews.org
Sarah Elliott 650.477.6585, sarah@sqcomms.com

#iCANHELP AND NET FAMILY NEWS LAUNCH SOCIAL MEDIA HELPLINE FOR CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS

Open for emails anytime and toll-free calls 9am-4pm on school days throughout the 2015-’16 school year

SAN JOSE, CA—Net Family News Inc. and #iCANHELP today announced the launch of iCanHelpline, a phone and email helpline for schools they’re piloting in California this 2015-’16 school year. The Helpline, which is the first of its kind in the U.S., aims to help resolve problems in social media involving students, staff and others in the school community – problems such as cyberbullying, sexting and reputation issues. Where abusive content violates social media services’ terms of service, the helpline can help get it taken down. California school or district personnel can call toll-free on school days between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at (855) 997-0409 or email anytime at help[at]icanhelpline.org. They’ll find all this information and much more – including links to emergency and specialized help services and school social media resources – at the helpline’s Web site, iCanHelpline.org.

“The Helpline builds on our organizations’ longstanding relationships with social media companies and more than a decade and a half of experience in Internet safety, education and student leadership,” said Anne Collier, the Helpline’s founder and president of Net Family News. “We also work in close cooperation with Internet helplines around the world.”

“The Helpline is unique in approaching students as part of the solution and bringing traditional student leadership education and peer-mentoring practices to digital spaces,” said Matt Soeth, co-creator of iCanHelpline.org and co-founder of #iCANHELP. “We are blending prevention and intervention in a service that – through the work of #iCANHELP – can also offer students and staff on-site training in digital leadership.”

The iCanHelpline pilot is the first step in developing a national call center for helping schools resolve problems in social media. It has already received support from Ask.fm, ClassDojo, Facebook, Google, Snapchat, Twitter and Yahoo. To support this free service to schools, click here.

About us: Net Family News is a San Jose, Calif.-based national nonprofit organization founded in 1999 to educate the public and advise the Internet industry about research and developments in technology related to youth. #iCANHELP is a Bay Area-based national nonprofit organization that creates and promotes positive, school-based solutions & interventions to online harassment and bullying. To learn more, visit iCanHelpline.org.

Our Supporters

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 28, 2015
Media Contacts: Anne Collier 801.663.6629, anne@netfamilynews.org
Sarah Elliott 650.477.6585, sarah@sqcomms.com

GRANT FROM DIGITAL TRUST FOUNDATION TO LAUNCH
SOCIAL MEDIA HELPLINE FOR CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS

iCanHelpline.org, a joint-project of nonprofits #iCANHELP and Net Family News, is set to launch August 17

SAN JOSE, CA—Net Family News Inc. and #iCANHELP today announced that their California pilot iCanHelpline.org, a toll-free and email helpline for schools, is being awarded a grant of $175,000 by the Digital Trust Foundation. It was one of nine grants “to emerging and established leaders in the field” awarded this month for “research, education and support focused on understanding, preventing and responding to digital abuse,” the Foundation announced. Also this month, iCanHelpline successfully completed its crowd-funding campaign at Indigogo.com.

The helpline will launch August 17, to help school and district personnel with social media-related problems such as cyberbullying, sexting and reputation issues. It will be available from 9 am to 4 pm on school days throughout the 2015-’16 school year.

“Think of it as 411 plus 911 for social media help for the school community,” said Anne Collier, the helpline’s founder and president of Net Family News. “We aim to provide the social media part – expertise, perspective and help with getting content taken down that violates services’ rules – of schools’ response to incidents of anti-social behavior in digital media.”

“This adds on-call intervention to all the prevention education available to schools from the Internet safety field,” said Matt Soeth, co-creator of iCanHelpline and co-founder of #iCANHELP.

Beginning on August 17, the helpline will be available toll-free at (855) 997-0409 or via email at help[at]icanhelpline.org.

About us: Net Family News is a San Jose, Calif.-based national nonprofit organization founded in 1999 to educate the public and advise the Internet industry about research and developments in technology related to youth. #iCANHELP is a Bay Area-based national nonprofit organization that creates and promotes positive, school-based solutions & interventions to online harassment and bullying. To learn more, visit iCanHelpline.org.

To support this free service to schools, click here.

For Immediate Release May 28, 2015

Media Contacts: Anne Collier 801.663.6629, anne@netfamilynews.org; Sarah Elliott 650.477.6585, sarah@sqcomms.com

#iCANHELP AND NET FAMILY NEWS INC. TEAM UP TO PILOT A SOCIAL MEDIA HELPLINE FOR SCHOOLS DURING 2015-’16 SCHOOL YEAR

iCanHelpline’s California Pilot Debuts Its Crowdsourcing Campaign on Indiegogo.com

SAN JOSE, CA–With 92% of middle and high school students online daily, 24% of them “almost constantly,”* it’s time schools had some help with social media. The helpline pilot will be the first step in the development of a national call center aimed at helping schools resolve problems in social media faced by students, staff and other members of school communities. When a cyberbullying, sexting or reputation-related incident occurs, schools or districts will be able to reach helpline staff by phone, email or through a form in the Helpline Web site, iCanHelpline.org.

“The helpline will be the hub of a whole help ecosystem,” said Matt Soeth, co-founder of #iCANHELP, “with real-time, research-based advice, help in reporting and escalating abuse in social media services, a directory of school policy and investigation resources and a growing, searchable database of school social media case studies.”

“This kind of service is unprecedented in the US,” said Anne Collier, president of Net Family News, and we’re bringing it to schools because school is the one institution that reaches virtually all young people, including those at risk, and because school life is the context of young people’s social experiences, online as well as offline. Getting schools help with that helps students and parents as well.”

Features of the pilot program include:

• A call center–plus: Schools can call during school hours for real-time help and the Web site – which will include links to sources of specialized help and a directory of resources for prevention, incident response and policymaking – is 24/7/365. To be added as cases come in will be an ever-growing searchable database of anonymized school case studies making the Helpline a source of metrics & trends in school online safety issues.
• Working with social media: Building on our organizations’ longstanding relationships with numerous social media companies, including Facebook/Instagram, Google/YouTube, Snapchat, Twitter and Ask.fm, we’ll help schools navigate sites and apps, report abuse and get content taken down that violates Terms of Service, providing the industry with much-needed local context as a trusted intermediary.
• Part of a global network: We’ll also work in close cooperation with Internet helplines around the world and, with a growing collective knowledge base, help users resolve problems in global social media.
• Unique among helplines in approaching students as part of the solution and building on established student leadership education and peer-mentoring practices.
• Deep Internet safety experience: Builds on more than 15 years in the Internet safety space, working with practitioners and researchers and advising Internet companies.

Funding for the pilot is being raised through Indiegogo.com. “Contributions big or small are huge to the helpline,” said Anne Collier of Net Family News. “This is about growing the digital literacy and citizenship of all members of school communities, and we believe these are such important issues in the public’s consciousness that people will want to contribute.”

The Helpline’s developers – #iCANHELP and Net Family News Inc. – invite you to contribute to a fundraising campaign at Indiegogo.com: http://igg.me/at/icanhelpline. The goal of the campaign is $25,000 to cover “construction costs” for piloting in California next school year – Web site construction, communications tools and staff training.

About us: Net Family News is a San Jose, Calif.-based national nonprofit organization founded in 1999 to educate the public and advise the Internet industry about research and developments in technology related to youth. #iCANHELP is a Bay Area-based national nonprofit organization that creates and promotes positive, school-based solutions & interventions to online harassment and bullying.

Please make a donation to the iCanHelpline campaign at http://igg.me/at/icanhelpline

*Pew Research Center’s 2015 “Teens, Social Media & Technology” study