Founder of Full Stop 2 Bullying!

Finalist: Young Leader

Full Stop 2 Bullying is a campaign which is dedicated to preventing bullying and the pain and hurt that goes with it. It provides support to victims and their families via the internet, e-mail and telephone.

Gemma, aged 21, set up Full Stop 2 Bullying! after being a victim of bullying herself to help others in the same situation and put an end to bullying for good. She runs the campaign in her spare time while holding down a full time job working as an AMPS Controller for the Welsh Ambulance Service and working as a Special Constable with Gwent Police. Despite these pressures on her time, she actively runs the campaign, pushing it on to raise awareness of her anti-bullying message.

Driven by the need to help others, most of her spare time is spent on supporting victims of bullying by raising awareness of the dangers of bullying and providing help to those who are victims. She has not only turned around a negative situation in her life but tried to help others at the same time.

She is leading the way in the fight against bullying and has expanded the campaign beyond its original remit, organising groups of counsellors and offering training in schools on issues of bullying. She is also looking to develop Full Stop 2 Bullying! at work and in the army. Gemma has installed a phone line for Full Stop 2 Bullying! in her home and answers it at any time of the day or night to help those in need.

She started Full Stop 2 Bullying! to help others rather than for any selfish gain but a side effect of her hard work has been increased media interest in her work. She has appeared on Sky News and Real Radio as well as other media sources voicing her concerns about bullying.

Despite the growing commitments of the campaign Gemma always has a smile on her face without compromising her work duties. Most of all she will go a long way to see a smile on someone’s face and see them feel self-respect again. She is compassionate, inspirational and a fighter.