Bullying UK wins TalkTalk Innovation in the Community Award
Howard Lake | 13 November 2008 | News
Bullying UK has received a TalkTalk Innovation in the Community Award for its innovative poster project which it says has saved schools more than £34,000 over the last year.
The charity will receive a grant of £2,000 to help expand its project ‘Click, Create and Print’ poster creator in new directions.
The project uses the mobile technology of QR codes combined with an online poster creator.
The website allows any young person to make their own anti-bullying poster. On each poster are two special codes. When snapped with a mobile phone camera they allow the user to access a digital copy of the poster that can then be shared with other young people via MMS or Bluetooth. A second code allows access to the charity’s mobile advice site www.bullying.co.uk.
The project was funded with donations from the family and friends of Ben Vodden, the 11-year-old Sussex schoolboy who killed himself after bullying on the school bus in 2006. So far, more than 10,000 unique posters with a tribute to Ben have been created by schools all over the UK.
John Carnell, founder and CEO of Harrogate-based Bullying UK said: “We are proud to be recognised by TalkTalk as one of the UK’s most innovative charities. Eighteen months ago we identified QR codes as being key to the uptake of the mobile web and the filling in of another bit of the digital divide. Even if people are in a rush they can snap the code from the poster with their phone and get immediate help from our mobile website.”
Charity director Liz Carnell said: “Bullying UK has always been at the cutting edge of charity work but even we were surprised how far ahead of even the biggest names in business Click, Create and Print is. In recent days the announcement of a popular soft drinks firm adding QR to 400 million cola cans is sure to drive uptake and awareness of our service as people become aware of this powerful technology”.
TalkTalk’s Innovation In The Community Awards enable charity and community groups throughout the UK to harness the power of the Internet. Thirty winners receive cash grants of £2,000 each to fund both technology-related projects as well as technology equipment, to help them make the most of the Internet.
www.bullying.co.uk/poster
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.