Everybody who wants to stand up and show their opposition to bullying can take part in a new social-media challenge being launched by a Savannah native on Christmas Day, inviting anyone to shoot a video of themselves performing a basketball move while speaking out against bullying and then post it online with the #ballintostopbullying hashtag.

Created by Lisa Brown, the Savannah-born executive director of the anti-bullying nonprofit organization Save Our Next Generation (S.O.N.G.), the “Ballin to Stop Bullying” challenge was created as a fun and pandemic-safe way to raise awareness of bullying among children from elementary- to high-school age. Brown said that during the pandemic, many bullying victims have felt increasingly isolated, and she hopes that this online movement will help show them that people care.

“They’re not forgotten in the midst of this pandemic,” Brown said.

People who want to take part in the challenge need only make a recording of themselves doing any basketball maneuver – from slam dunks to granny shots – and say “I pledge to stand up and speak out against bullying,” and then post the video on social media with the #ballintostopbullying hashtag.

“Anybody can do it, down to a little two-year-old,” Brown said.

In addition to asking the general public to participate, Brown is working to enlist professional basketball players around the world to get the challenge going on Dec. 25, including former Harlem Globetrotter Larry “Gator” Rivers, a Savannah resident and incoming Chatham County Commission member.

Among other activities, S.O.N.G. organizes an annual anti-bullying rally in Hinesville every October, although the 2020 event had to be canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. Brown hopes that the “Ballin to Stop Bullying” challenge will help fundraising efforts to bring back the S.O.N.G. rally tradition in 2021.

“We’re a small organization with big plans,” Brown said.

Visit songofliberty.org to learn more about S.O.N.G. and the “Ballin to Stop Bullying” challenge.