Nickelodeon Australia and New Zealand has announced on their
official "Dare to be Square" website the very exciting Nickelodeon News that, as part of their "SpongeBob SquarePants"-themed pro-social campaign, "
Dare to be Square", an exciting initiative to promote positivity and inclusiveness and to give Aussie and Kiwi kids a voice, Nickelodeon and the Australian pop, R&B, and soul singer-songwriter Guy Sebastian have released Guy's new "Dare to be Square" song, which he recently performed at SLIMEFEST 2013, as a charity single to help raise money for
Kids Helpline, Australia's only free, 24/7, confidential counselling service for kids!
The song,
which can be downloaded now on iTunes Australia for AUD$2.19, and all money raised will support Kids Helpline!
Leading up to SLIMEFEST 2013, Guy Sebastian and Nick Oz & NZ dared Australian and Kiwi kids to be part of the campaign by joining in by learning the lyrics to "Dare to be Square" and upload a video of themselves singing the chorus to the official DTBS website,
http://daretobesquare.com.au. Entrants could then find themselves singing along with Guy as part of Nick's virtual choir on the big screen when Guy performed the song
SLIMEFEST 2013!
The Australian tabloid newspaper
The Daily Telegraph is reporting that Guy Sebastian was prompted to write the tune after his own son, 17-month-old Hudson, was punched by a bigger child during a park outing.
He hopes the lyrics, which includes the line "Who I am is who I am / and that's all right / Now I don't care what anybody says", will prompt teenagers to think about what is "cool behaviour". "Being cool is being happy with who you are and confident in the fact you are different," he previously told The Daily Telegraph.
Kids Helpline, which has answered more than six million calls and online contacts since opening in 1991, hopes the awareness created by the campaign will help young people nationwide.
"The more we can give kids a chance to develop resilience and say ‘I am proud to be me’, then the healthier and happier kids will be," Kids Helpline general manager Wendy Protheroe said. "(This is focused on) being brave enough to say what is happening in your life, being brave enough to reach and find ways to help and realise there are an awful lot of young kids in Australia who are just like you but they are daring to be themselves."
Kids Helpline offers FREE 24/7 phone and online help for anyone aged from 5 to 25 years. Callers to Kids Helpline are welcome to chat about anything that's on their mind, including what's going on at home, about a friend who needs help, about something that may be bothering them at school, and about feeling sad or confused. Kids Helpline exists to help you! Contact Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or through the charity's official website,
www.kidshelp.com.au.
Remember to keep spreading the message of positivity by throwing a square in the air and use the hashtag #daretobesquare!
Full information can be found on Nick's official "Dare to be Square" website,
http://daretobesquare.com.au.
