LG Partners With Be Strong, Anti-Bullying Organization, To Help Student Leaders Stay Connected During Pandemic And Beyond

Provided as part of #GiveHappiness campaign, LG gram laptops enable sharing of critical resources

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Dec 10, 2020, 09:52 ET

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla., Dec. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Be Strong, the non-profit empowering youth to prevent bullying, isolation and suicide by igniting positive change in peer behavior through a comprehensive student-led approach, is partnering with technology leader LG Electronics USA to brighten the holidays for youth across America.

The next phase of the multi-faceted partnership, which kicked off last month with the #GiveHappiness campaign, involves using LG technology to help Be Strong student leaders stay connected while giving them the technology to share critical resources with their peers in their communities. Specifically, as part of its "Life's Good: Experience Happiness" initiative, LG is providing 100 LG gram laptops to support Be Strong's student-led, social-emotional wellness efforts, which are needed now more than ever.

With the COVID 19 pandemic, youth today are experiencing an array of factors from uncertainty, to social isolation, anxiety, depression and more. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 40 percent of Americans are struggling with mental health or substance abuse due to COVID-19. The crisis has taken a psychological toll on people of all ages, but teenagers are especially affected. School closures and social distancing cut off teens from major means of psychological support, putting them at higher risk of developing anxiety and depression, according to Stanford University.

That's where Be Strong and LG come in. According to Christine Ackerson, director of CSR and sustainability at LG Electronics USA, "We're enabling Be Strong student leaders to stay connected and are supporting a range of technology needs, from remote education to helping encourage their work to engage and mobilize activities that advance social and emotional learning skills in their schools and communities."

"As our program grew throughout 2020, we found that Be Strong students were struggling in their leadership roles, as well as school work, due to a lack of access to technology. Be Strong immediately asked our friends at LG Electronics to help. We asked for 10 laptops and LG is providing 100!" said Ashleigh Cromer, executive director of Be Strong.

As a part of its overall goal of spreading sustainable happiness skills to more than 5.5 million youth through its award-winning Experience Happiness initiative, LG is partnering with Be Strong to help grow their student leader program throughout 2021.

Join the Happiness Journey at #GiveHappiness to Create Happier Holidays

The LG - Be Strong's #GiveHappiness holiday campaign focuses on practicing, learning and sharing six happiness skills with the goal of creating happier holidays for everyone. Backed by 75 years of scientific research, LG Life's Good: Experience Happiness program worked with experts in social emotional learning, education and the science of happiness to identify these six skills.

"It's time to invest in ourselves to increase our capacity to face life's challenges. #GiveHappiness encourages anyone who wants to create happier holidays for themselves and others to go to LGExperienceHappiness.com/give-happiness/ to download our interactive happiness checklist, " said Cromer. "It's easy and fun, plus it works! Each week we're focusing on a different happiness skill that can be tangibly practiced and shared to develop sustainable happiness."

In a year where many people may not have much to give this holiday season, the gift of happiness is free. A downloadable Happiness Gift Card can be shared in holiday cards, used as stocking stuffers for friends and family plus shared throughout the community to invite friends and family to join in the happiness journey.

"Sometimes parents don't have all the answers. What's become abundantly clear to me during these difficult times is what's essential in life - like human connections that create happiness," said Theresa Carpenter Beames, parent of a Be Strong student leader. "These LG Experience Happiness skills give us a chance to imagine what we could be if we are stronger for ourselves and for each other. We can lead from a place of abundance instead of fear, and we are better and stronger together. "

About Life's Good: Experience Happiness
Aiming to enrich the lives of 5.5 million youth in the United States over five years, LG Electronics USA launched a unique initiative called "Life's Good: Experience Happiness." Happiness skills can be learned, according to the Greater Good Science Center at University of California Berkeley, which has identified six skills that sustain one's ability to recognize that life's good: mindfulness, human connection, positive outlook, purpose, generosity and gratitude. LG's award-winning science-based platform is designed to engage leading non-profit and educational partners including Be Strong, Inner Explorer, Discovery Education and the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning that help equip American youth with the skills for sustainable happiness. www.LGExperienceHappiness.com

About Be Strong
Additional information on Be Strong events and initiatives is available at BeStrong.global. Be Strong is a 501(c)3 and all donations are 100% tax-deductible.

For more information, go to LGExperienceHappiness.com/Give-Happiness/.

Contact:
Diana Blanco
[email protected]

SOURCE Be Strong