Pink Shirt Day - February 26th

Jodi LeBlanc
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February 20, 2020

Bullying is a major problem in our schools, workplaces, homes, and online. Take your kindness to new heights! This Pink Shirt Day, and every day, let’s Lift Each Other Up.

The theme for this year’s Pink Shirt Day is “Lift each other up”; a simple but powerful message encouraging us to look beyond our differences and celebrate the things that make us unique. When we lift each other up, we see past the things that separate us and see instead the things that unite us as people.

With one in five students affected by bullying, chances are that someone you know is being impacted. If you’re not sure what to do, reach out to someone who can help. And remember, kindness and compassion can go a long way. 

Will you be participating in Pink Shirt Day? On February 26, 2020, we encourage everyone to practice kindness and wear pink to symbolize that you do not tolerate bullying.

https://www.pinkshirtday.ca/

Now a movement celebrated across the globe, Pink Shirt Day has humble beginnings. Inspired by an act of kindness in small-town Nova Scotia, CKNW Kids' Fund, working with partners Boys & Girls Clubs and 980 CKNW, was inspired to raise funds to support anti-bullying programs. Here is a snippet of an article detailing the original incident:

David Shepherd, Travis Price and their teenage friends organized a high-school protest to wear pink in sympathy with a Grade 9 boy who was being bullied [for wearing a pink shirt]…[They] took a stand against bullying when they protested against the harassment of a new Grade 9 student by distributing pink T-shirts to all the boys in their school. ‘I learned that two people can come up with an idea, run with it, and it can do wonders,’ says Mr. Price, 17, who organized the pink protest. ‘Finally, someone stood up for a weaker kid.’ So Mr. Shepherd and some other headed off to a discount store and bought 50 pink tank tops. They sent out message to schoolmates that night, and the next morning they hauled the shirts to school in a plastic bag. As they stood in the foyer handing out the shirts, the bullied boy walked in. His face spoke volumes. ‘It looked like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders,’ Mr. Price recalled. The bullies were never heard from again.

— GLOBE & MAIL

After David and Travis’ act of kindness in 2007, CKNW was inspired to help other youth affected by bullying, with many staff members wearing pink shirts and collecting funds to support Boys and Girls Clubs. Since then, the idea has only grown each year, with worldwide support and participation. Countries across the globe are now organizing anti-bullying fundraisers of their own, including Japan, New Zealand, China, Panama, and numerous others. In fact, last year alone, people in almost 180 countries shared their support of Pink Shirt Day through social media posts and donations.

 

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Darryl St_ Pierre
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February 24, 2020

Jodi,

Once again you've caught my attention with a great article!

I was not aware of Pink Shirt Day before this morning. Before the morning was over I was suggesting to our HR unit that we participate! I did learn that the U.S. recognizes the day on the 28th or 29th of February. We're not sure if it will clear the "hurdles" in time for this year, but if not I plan to get an informal movement going for Friday.

Darryl

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Jodi LeBlanc
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February 25, 2020

Wow that's wonderful Darryl, thank you for sharing with your HR unit. No worries if it doesn't get implemented formally by the date, you can always grab a pink shirt and wear it in solidarity. It will definitely spark awareness and conversation :)

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