Across Australia approximately 1 in 5 students are bullied every day and 33% of students report being bullied multiple times every week. This bullying epidemic has led to 41,000 young Australian’s trying to commit suicide every year.

Like these student statistics, I know how this feels. I struggle most mornings to get up, get ready, put on a happy face and go to school, knowing the same things are going to happen each and every day to the same poor students for no good reason.

My name is Tanieka Booth McNeill and I am a 15 year old student at Springfield Central State High School and I am also the Founder of Shielded Socks. At Shielded Socks we believe in a world where every student can attend school without the fear of being bullied and feel proud of who they truly are (both inside and out).

We sell socks to enable young people to feel more confident in themselves. Our socks look like normal school socks with the colour white being at the top of the sock (where you will see the sock) and the cool design being underneath the shoe. That way students can wear them without teachers getting angry and telling them to change their socks.

We’ve partnered with Mulga, an EPIC street artist from Sydney Australia, to design our first exclusive line of Shielded Socks

50% of our profits also go to supporting the important work of Kids Helpline.