Contributed by Vania Huang

Happy Pink Shirt Day, everyone! For those who can’t seem to figure out why everyone is wearing pink today, Pink Shirt Day is an annual event coordinated by CKNW Orphan’s Fund that aims to raise awareness and support anti-bullying initiatives. The idea for Pink Shirt Day was actually started by two high school students from Nova Scotia. According to the Pink Shirt Day website,

Here is a snippet of the Globe & Mail article that inspired CKNW Orphans’ Fund Pink Shirt Day:

“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.”

What an amazing and inspiring story! Thank you to everyone who participated by wearing pink today, and we hope that the spirit of Pink Shirt Day will continue to encourage us to always practice kindness and acceptance towards ourselves and others. Show your support on social media by using the hashtag #PinkShirtDay. In BC, for every positive message posted using #PinkShirtPromise today, Shaw and Coast Capital will donate $1 to the CKNW Orphans’ Fund to support local bullying prevention programs. To learn more, please go to http://pinkshirtday.ca/.