Pink Shirt Day

Wednesday, February 25^th, 2015 is Pink Shirt Day.

This is a day to commemorate anti-bullying efforts in schools and was the initiative of two students from Nova Scotia in 2013. After seeing a grade 9 boy bullied for wearing a pink shirt, they went to a local store, bought a bunch of pink tank tops and handed them out to the boys in school the next day.

Great example of student activism, wouldn't you say?

Bullying happens.  It happens a lot according to  bullying.org:

“Fact: Bullying happens to someone in Canada every 7 minutes on the playground.”

and

“75% of people say they have been affected by bullying.” 

–from PrevNet

We hear lots in the media about it and of some of the dire consequences that stem from bullying.  Remember Amanda Todd and Rehtaeh Parsons as two very recent stories.

Check out ToThis Day by Shane Koyczan, a book of illustrations set to his poem that speaks to the pain that comes from bullying and the heroic effort needed to overcome the fallout. Great list of resources about bullying and anti-bullying at the end.

Mr. Koyczan recorded a reading of his poem on YouTube with animated visuals from dozens of illustrators and is well worth watching.

Don’t forget: this Wednesday, show some pink.