February 28th is Pink Shirt Day!

The Canada wide initiative began in 2007 in Nova Scotia when a grade nine student was bullied for wearing a pink polo shirt. Twelfth graders David Shepherd and Travis Price took action, buying 50 pink tank tops and sending out a message to their classmates that night – encouraging everyone to wear pink. The next morning they stood in the foyer of their school passing the pink shirts out to all as they walked into school the next day.

The bullies were never heard from again, and the student who inspired the movement appeared as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Here in Fort McMurray, Pink Shirt Day falls during Teachers Conference week so schools are raising awareness about the power a group of people can have by standing up to bullying early. The Fort McMurray Public School division are encouraging their students to wear pink today, while the Fort McMurray Catholic School District will recognize the day on Friday.

Other local events include a Pink Shirt Day Workshop for girls aged 6-8 and 9-14 hosted by Girls Inc of Northern Alberta. The event will be hosted at the Unifor Building, and discussion will centre around the importance of kindness while learning skills for managing bullying and conflict. It’s free to attend and you can register a participant on the Girls Inc parent portal.

Harvard Media is also hosting A Pink Shirt Day Discussion in support of Kids Help Phone at 11am on February 28th. Influential panelists will discuss how bullying impacted and continues to impact their lives.

Classrooms and individuals are invited to tune into the livestream and you can find more information from this year’s host here.

Celebrating Pink Shirt Day on multiple dates across the community is a great reminder that we need to stand up to bullying no matter what day it is.

On February 28th, 21st, 23rd and every day . . . let’s paint the town pink!!