A: YOU CAN SIT WITH ME aims to bring communities together and promote kindness whilst stamping out bullying. It is 5 simple words to help change children’s lives.

A: Our goal is to be able to embed the YOU CAN SIT WITH ME campaign into all schools across Australia and with your help together we believe we can do this and we know this will help support fellow Australian children who feel isolated, depressed and anxious.

A: Parents can remind their child that a child wearing the YOU CAN SIT WITH ME wristband is a safe person to go to who has been trained and will welcome them into a game or conversation. This is very reassuring for parents knowing that their child will have someone to sit with regardless of their age, race, religion, gender, or disability.

A: Below is a list of recommendations and guidelines to assist you:

1. We feel that not every child should have a wristband, this would cause a “fad” and the purpose will become lost. We have learnt from other schools that it seems to be effective in the years K-6 that each class has 5 wrist bands to give out and they are given out at the beginning of the week with the understanding that the children may
   not want to wear it every day.
2. We feel that children in leadership roles, peer support or class captains and vice captains should have access to the YOU CAN SIT WITH ME wristbands.
3. Children who show kindness and compassion should also be considered to be YOU CAN SIT WITH ME ambassadors. As should children who you feel could benefit from wearing the wristband, who are trying to change behaviours or who have earned a wristband through positive or kind behaviour.
4. What we feel what is important is that the children understand that if they wear a YOU CAN SIT WITH ME wristband it is a commitment for the day. We need the children to understand that if they make this commitment – they are not to take the  wristband off for the duration of the school day or time in which has been allocated
   to them to wear it.
5. It is important that the children think carefully prior to wearing the wristband. They need to consider the following points prior to wearing the wristband:

• Am I having a good day today, do I feel strong enough to help others?
• Am I happy for anyone of any race, gender, age or culture to sit with me today?
• Am I too busy today to help other people because I have activities on at recess or lunch time

A: Yes, We sell the pencils, water bottles and bag tags for fundraising purposes. Please order through the shop on our website. www.youcansitwithme.org.

A: No. We do not sell the wristbands for fundraising, the wristbands are part of an inclusive school, sporting club and community program. We strongly feel that if every child wears a band that the message is lost and will become a fad that fades away. We don’t want that to happen as we have a long-term vision for these 5 simple, beautiful words to be a part of all school and club positive behaviour and anti-bullying guidelines. It is a very simple message with 5 simple words that can have a huge impact if used correctly.

A: We use our proceeds to build resources for students, parents and teachers and we have partnered with the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation and we donate a portion of profits to this great cause. The money goes directly to further improve the education of our Aboriginal and Refugee communities, something the children should be very proud of supporting.

A: Yes you can still join the program and we ship orders all over the world! Your school can email us the order at [email protected] and we will send an invoice for payment and ship the order to the school!