In 2007, two Nova Scotia students decided to take action after witnessing a younger student being bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school. The students bought 50 pink t-shirts and encouraged schoolmates to wear them and send a powerful message of solidarity to the bully. CKNW Orphan’s Fund was inspired by the story and to date have raised more than $1.8 million for anti-bullying programs in Western Canada with the sales of Pink Shirt Day t-Shirts.
Since then, Pink Shirt Day has become a Canada-wide campaign, with this year’s Pink Shirt Day falling on February 27, 2019. On this day, thousands of Canadians are expected to wear pink to show their support for safe and inclusive schools, workplaces and communities.
Cyberbullying continues to be the focus of the Pink Shirt Day campaign, with this year’s official Pink Shirt Day t-shirt proclaiming “Be Kind”, a reminder to everyone to think before they post on social media. No matter what age or life stage you are in, the campaign encourages social media users to THINK before they post: is what you’re about to say True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary, and Kind?
Official Pink Shirt Day t-shirts are now available at all London Drugs locations across Western Canada. In addition to pink shirts, London Drugs will also be selling pink shirt plush bears, Be Kind toques and pink wrist bands to raise awareness and funds to support this integral campaign.
For more information or to support this cause, visit: pinkshirtday.ca.
