NEW EXCITING PROJECT | #SpeakUp

Today is the day!!! The launch of my new secret project which I have been dropping a few hints to here and there, so I bet you are all so annoyed with me by now! So let's not wait another second longer and get straight into it!

WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU ON ABOUT NICOLE?

Okay, for ages now I have wanted to make my mark in the blogging community! I have wanted to create something which can help people, inspire people but also bring bloggers together for a long time! I have wanted to do some more personal posts about things I have been through, topics that affect young people etc. In the past but never really felt confident enough to push that publish button. Additionally, I always fear I will come across a bit self-obsessed or looking for some kind of sympathy vote, which really isn't the case at all! So I have decided to come up with a little project/ community about raising awareness of health and wellbeing in young people called #SpeakUp

OKAY OKAY BUT WHAT IS THIS ACTUALLY ABOUT?

I think sometimes we all have our issues, problems and difficulties that we all go through and sometimes it would just be nice to talk to others about it! Share experiences, feelings, advice etc. Trying to help each other out through times of need! Going to doctors for me, like I know many others is a pretty petrifying experience and likewise talking to family and friends we see every day, who we laugh and joke with, who we love very much can still be pretty difficult! So to help out #SpeakUp aims to create a loving, supporting and friendly community made up of bloggers who want to help raise awareness of these issues that can affect young people! Through different ways ( which I will get to in a minute) we support those who need a little bit of help and provide a place where bloggers can talk, share and most importantly speak up about these very important but often overlooked areas of young people's lives! I use the term ' young people' broadly as I am very aware of that some of the topics we will be discussing are universal and affect all ages! Primarily, this community will be based for bloggers between the ages of 11 to early twenties but really anyone can get involved! Both genders are welcome too! So what will you actually be talking about Nicole!? The topics are going to varied but mainly based around topics that affect young people's health and well-being, for example, mental health, body image, peer pressure, alcohol, careers, friendship etc.  The list really does go on!

THATS GREAT BUT HOW IS IT GOING TO WORK?

Okay, the million dollar question! Every week there is going to be a post up on my blog dedicated to a new #SpeakUp topic! For the first couple of weeks I am going to be writing the posts but after that I want to get you guys involved ( I will get to that in a minute) Next week, I am going to doing a post close to my heart about my battle with my skin and acne. Alongside these posts, of course, the comments will always be open for discussions and what not but I want to go one step further! I want to start a community chat! On that topic I have talked about that week, I am going to be doing a bit of a chat/ discussion/ advice sharing thing on twitter! The chat will be on a Thursday between 8-9pm. It is very hard to find a time that is suitable for everyone but I will go with this for now and see how it goes! 

BRILLANT! BUT HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

Of course, after reading the post that has gone up earlier that week on the topic ( there is no set day for this by the way), you can get involved in the chat on twitter on a Thursday between 8 pm -9 pm using  #SpeakUp. However, of course, I have not experienced every problem that young people will ever go through so it doesn't sit with me that I can talk about it and  give advice on something I know little about, which is where you guys come in! If you are experiencing, experienced or want to speak up about a topic you think affects young people then you might have the chance to do a guest post for my blog! To get in touch simply send me an email to thriftyvintagefashionbusiness@mail.com with an outline of the topic you want to write about. I will try to fit in as many people as I can in but numerically the month dictates it will be around four as there are four weeks in a month! Not only is this a perfect opportunity to promote your blog but, more importantly, an opportunity to help others and to share advice about an issue that affects you! You will be doing your bit for the community and hopefully spreading happiness and positivity to others!

WHAT ESLE CAN I DO NICOLE?

If you are interested in becoming a member of the #SpeakUp community then you can copy the HTML code at the end of the post within the grab box and place it into the sidebar of your blog which will show the #SpeakUp button, which I designed myself! This will advertise to others you are supporting the community and will hopefully get as many people involved as possible! Also, if you are interested then please do click the click below, also, to sign up! Click the Join #SpeakUp link right below this paragraph! It's best to do it on a computer as it doesn't always work on phones! It will just ask you for your name, blog URL, twitter handle and email address! Your twitter handle and your blog URL will be put in a spreadsheet so everyone can follow each other and find new members of the community to support, talk to etc. Only I will see your email address, it's so I can keep in contact with you in case I need some more guest bloggers! Your email address will never be shared with anyone else and you don't have to add it in if you would rather not!

JOIN #SpeakUp

And that's it! Wow! This is very exciting! I hope you guys get on board with the new community! I hope it really takes off and is not an epic flop! I am really passionate about it so I hope you are too! Stay tuned for the first #SpeakUp blog post on Tuesday xx

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