SAN FRANCISCO – “Where do you draw the digital line?” That is the question asked by the Family Violence Prevention Fund located in San Francisco, CA. to thousands of parents and teens throughout the nation during a recent national education prevention campaign.

In light of a new opportunity to get teens involved in teen dating violence prevention, the organization recently sponsored and launched the event called “That’s Not Cool” Teen Dating Violence Prevention Campaign. With teens being faced daily with various peer issues today such as, alcohol and drugs, as well as dating violence, the campaign is a great way to alert teens everywhere, including Chesterfield County about the importance of teen dating violence prevention. This type of campaign also provides them with an avenue of learning how to cope with these types of issues.

Beginning in February and ending on March 15, the campaign detailed a “Callout Card” contest that asked teens to create an original design that calls-out what they think is cool or not cool, in a relationship. The contest was a creative way to engage teens in his or her home community to help prevent teen dating abuse.

The Family Violence Prevention Fund, which is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, developed the campaign in conjunction with its other offices located in Boston, MA and in Washington, DC. In partnership with the Advertising Council and the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women, the “That’s Not Cool” campaign concept uses digital examples of control, pressure and threats online and by cell phone to encourage teens to draw their own line about what is, or is not, acceptable relationship behavior. Not only did the contest provide a great opportunity to get teens thinking about healthy, non-violent relationships but they also had a chance to win some cool prizes in the mix.

The winners will be announced within the next few weeks according to the FVPF Washington, DC office.

The prizes include one grand prize, which is an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC to attend the NFL Players Gala. The winner of the grand prize will also meet the pro-football players. In addition, there will also be four Runners-Up, in which the winners will receive an autographed NFL memorabilia, such as a jersey or a helmet; and also ten Honorable Mentions, where the winners of this prize will each receive a “That’s Not Cool” T-shirt.

Even though the specific contest has officially ended, there are several ways a community can host a Callout Card Contest Workshop, according to the Family Violence Prevention Fund, is listed below.

Gather a group of teens to talk about digital dating abuse issues and get creative,

Start your workshop by asking teens what they think about textual harassment, sexting, or other times when online or cell phone communication goes too far,

Spend a few minutes showing teens the www.thatsnotcool.com website. Play an interactive two-sided story/video via: (www.thatsnotcool.com/VideoIndex.aspx) and view the Callout Cards at (www.thatsnotcool.com/CalloutCards.aspx).

Get teen feedback on the issues brought up on the website by asking questions such as, “What do they think is okay, or not okay, in a relationship? What are examples of pressure, control, or threats in a relationship? What would they say about his or her drawing the digital line regarding these issues?

Now it’s time to get crafty! Ask teens to turn those ideas into their own Callout Cards such as creating a “hard copy” Callout Card with paper and markers and any other art supplies. Next scan these designs or snap a picture with a digital camera. Then upload the digital file of the “hard copy” artwork to the Callout Card Contest website: www.thatsnotcool.com/contest.

You can design a Callout Card digitally using a Paint program or a similar computer software program. These can be uploaded directly to the Callout Card Contest website at www.thatsnotcool.com/contest

Also, more resources on teen dating abuse and the “That’s Not Cool” Campaign can be found at the “That’s Not Cool” campaign tools website at www.thatsnotcool.com/tools/login.asp).

For more information visit www.endabuse.org.