mmg.com.au

Paige Hayden and Riana Webb were the first to get free hugs and flowers in Shepparton’s Maude St Mall.

And the 15-year-olds could not wipe the smiles off their faces.

‘‘It’s mad, ’’ Paige said.

‘‘It’s amazing. It makes people happy about themselves, ’’ Riana added.

Their reactions were exactly what Bernie McCarthy, 22, Jono Neilsen, 18, and Ben Meates, 18, hoped for.

The Shepparton friends gave out free hugs, flowers and high-fives in the mall on Friday to try to boost the morale of the community and in particular, its teenagers.

The trio noticed negative statuses and postings on Facebook, particularly after the deaths of Shepparton teenagers in the past three months.

‘‘It was just all the people who were feeling down on life, ’’ Mr Neilsen said.

‘‘I wanted to do something about it.’’

Murchison florist Avonlea donated flowers to the boys and with their ‘‘Free Hugs’’ signs, they hit the mall to catch the after-school crowd.

‘‘They’re good looking boys,’’ 23-year-old shop assistant Kate Jutson said after the boys swept into the store.

‘‘And someone has got to give kids hope and to know their options.’’

Watch a video about free hugs posted on YouTube by LKproductions on the right of the page

Mr McCarthy said social networking sites like Facebook had made it easier for bullies but last week he was trying to get the attention off the bullies and onto those who deserved it.

And being bullied is something the musician was familiar with.

‘‘Once I said ‘I’m gonna be a rapper’, people laughed at it and even friends said it’ll never happen. I want kids to focus on the positive, ’’ he said.

‘‘It’s one hug at a time, one high-five at a time. If we make one person feel happy then we’ve achieved what we set out to do.’’

Mr McCarthy said he and his friends would continue to ‘‘spread the love’’ further with National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence coming up on March 16.