#Ad
Setting you up for success.
We’ve been empowering people to become allies for over five years now, so we know that the journey to allyship is not easy. There are many barriers preventing people from standing up for what is right. Unfortunately, when it comes to intervening, psychology is against us. We are social animals that strive to fit in with the rest of the group. On top of that, our brains are wired to seek positive encounters rather than potentially stressful ones. All of this makes interventions harder.
Here at Communities Inc, we believe that to create a more equal society, we need to help each other more. That’s why when we designed Stand by Me – our bystander intervention training – we knew we needed to create something that will let people remember what they had learnt and aid them in their commitment even after they leave the training room. We understood the value of equipping our graduates not just with skills but also with valuable resources that will help them on their path of standing up to hate. That was the birth of the Stand by Me Goodie Bags.
Interested in Stand by Me?
Here is what the participants of the Stand by Me course receive after their training and what will improve in the nearest future.
1. Stand by Me training guide.
It’s difficult to retain six hours of training, especially if it’s as jam-packed with knowledge as Stand by Me is. That’s why all the training information is always encapsulated in the training guide – no need to frantically write everything down, worrying you’ll miss something. Our training participants can enjoy the transformative journey and make the most out of the interactions, knowing all the information is waiting for them. And to make it more eco-friendly, we stopped printing the manual and now only offer it in digital form.
2. A Quick Guide to Tackling Hate.
A Quick Guide to Tackling Hate is probably our most popular resource to date. Although it has changed shapes, forms and names through the years, the core remained the same. It contains all the most important messages from the training in a pocket-sized form for quick retrieval when you witness something happening and need some additional info. We always give a few copies, so that our course graduates can share their knowledge with family and friends.
3. Badges.
As an ally, you want people to know that you are the right person to reach out to. That’s why we provide our graduates with badges they can proudly wear on their clothing. We also add extra for them to hand to other allies – like these Love not Hate button badges, which were generously gifted by our long-term supplier – Sticker Mule. Thank you so much!
4. Pledge cards.
After the training, the participants have an option of making their commitment official by signing our Bystander Intervention Pledge. It serves as a reminder that you should always support those affected by hate. Here we also leave a few extra copies to give to friends and family.
You too can commit to tackling hate!
5. Pen
Once you commit to the pledge, you need something to sign it with! Besides, a working pen is an important part of every bystander intervention. It allows you to write down all the relevant information about the incident, or an uplifting message for the person affected.
6. Tote bag
To make it easy to carry, all the resources are packed into a handy tote bag. It’s embellished not just with the Stand by Me logo, but our See, Report, Support intervention model. So, as an ally, you can spread the message just by being in a public space. All our staff and ambassadors wear it proudly for that reason.
So here it is, our Stand by Me Goodie Bag explained. Packed with resources both to keep and give away, we think it’s a very comprehensive pack that every ally will find useful. Since the Stand by Me UK project, which took us delivering training across the whole country, we have been working on the new, rebranded version of the Goodie Bag. We really cannot wait to tell you all of the amazing things we are working on. Follow us on social media or sign up for the newsletter to stay up to date!
