For the second consecutive year, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and apparel and home décor retailer Gordmans are teaming up to promote ADL’s No Place for Hate^® initiative. The goal is to help eradicate hatred, prejudice and bullying as students and teachers prepare to head back to school this fall. Research shows that 28 percent of students ages 12 to 18 years old report being bullied at school, and 24 percent in the same age group report being cyberbullied.

 Throughout the month of August, Gordmans, which operates 97 stores in 20 states, will join ADL in a call to action encouraging individuals to take a stand against bullying and prejudice in schools and communities. Guests at Gordmans stores are invited to purchase “Helping Hands” for $1 each or more in support of the initiative. Every dollar raised will directly benefit ADL’s No Place for Hate^® initiative and other anti-bullying programs.

“The back-to-school shopping season is the perfect time to create awareness that bullying continues to threaten and distress students. Because we serve many families with school age children, we support the No Place for Hate campaign and invite the public to join us in taking a stand against bullying,” said T. Scott King, interim CEO and Chairman of the Board for Gordmans. “Last year, ADL’s No Place for Hate initiative resonated with our guests, who contributed $90,000 to the cause. The effort was one of the most successful ‘Helping Hands’ campaigns in Gordmans’ 99-year history. The funds were used to help underwrite anti-bullying workshops and anti-bias education outreach in locations where Gordmans has stores. We again invite Gordmans’ guests to join us in this important effort so that students can feel safe and thrive at school.”

ADL’s nationally recognized No Place for Hate^® initiative and A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE Institute^® anti-bullying programs enable schools to promote respect for individual and group differences while challenging prejudice and bigotry. 

ADL’s education programs have reached more than 58 million adults and children with anti-bias educational programming.  Last year, ADL trained nearly 2,800 educators and administrators with bullying and cyberbullying prevention workshops and reached an additional 37,000 elementary and secondary school students across the country with bullying prevention and anti-bias assembly programs. More than 2,000 K-12 schools and communities across the country have been officially designated as No Place for Hate^® for their anti-bias efforts.