On Wednesdays we wear pink, to stop bullying.
The Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and Area (BGCCA) will be hosting the eighth annual Pink Shirt Day on Feb. 24, a campaign throughout Canada that encourages people to wear pink shirts to raise awareness and start conversations to end bullying.
Pink Shirt Day was started in 2007 when two teenagers in Nova Scotia organized a “high school protest to wear pink in sympathy of a Grade 9 boy who was being bullied for wearing a pink shirt.”
This year, BGCCA staff has been invited to visit local schools to present a public service announcement and give anti-bullying speeches, focusing on how to keep this campaign a year-round initiative.
“We want to let them know that pink shirt day itself is not the end all for bullying – this is a day to get people talking,” said Jeff Gray, BGCCA manager of youth programs. “There are a lot of people who put a lot of effort into this being the only day of the year (to talk) about anti-bullying and we are trying to dispel that.”
Local schools are also heavily involved with the campaign, including Cochrane High where organizers will use the whole day to offer activities and workshops planned by the school’s psychology, leadership and gay-straight alliance (GSA) clubs.
BGCCA staff said this is a perfect day for teachers to reflect on how they have helped anti-bullying efforts.
“This is one of those days where you can look around and remember, and for people who are not actively doing anything, this can kick-start their year,” Gray said.
With T-shirt sales down by two-thirds this year, BGCCA staff is hopeful that residents will still be wearing pink throughout the town to show their support.
“People can go throughout town and people may not know who they are or what they do but if you have a pink shirt on then it is pretty easy to approach someone like that because you have a visual to help you. It is still an important campaign and it reinforces that they are there for the kids,” Gray said.
For a campaign that started with teenagers, Gray also said it is important to keep the youth involved, especially the older teenagers.
“It not only helps the teenagers directly but they are old enough to have the influence on so many younger kids – for them to wear a pink shirt for that to be something that is continuing, is pretty special,” Gray said.
Pink shirts will be available at the Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and Area, located at 111 5th Ave West, with adult shirts for $10. Proceeds from the T-shirt sales go toward funding for a number of anti-bullying programs. For more information visit pinkshirtday.ca
