Saskatchewan Proclaims Red Cross Pink Day
Today, Education Minister Don Morgan proclaimed February 24 as Red Cross Pink Day. Pink Day is observed across the province to raise awareness of bullying and the importance of preventing it. This year’s theme is Let’s change the culture around bullying together!
“Creating schools and communities that are free of bullying is important for the youth of our province and their families,” Morgan said. “Pink Day is a great opportunity for us to continue encouraging students to do whatever they can to prevent bullying. The Red Cross does an excellent job of engaging our students in this initiative every year and I commend their hard work.”
Pink Day is a national bullying prevention initiative led by provincial Red Cross chapters. The event builds on the pink shirt movement that began in 2007 when two Nova Scotia high school students inspired their fellow students to wear pink when they saw a another student being bullied. Since then, wearing pink has become a symbol of speaking out against bullying rather than remaining a bystander.
“The Canadian Red Cross is thrilled that the Government of Saskatchewan is recognizing this worldwide movement to create safe and respectful schools and communities,” Red Cross Vice-President of Saskatchewan Cindy Fuchs said. “We are proud to partner with the Ministry of Education to reach thousands of youth with bullying prevention education each year.”
In addition to celebrating Pink Day across the province, the Government of Saskatchewan funds a number of initiatives to support Saskatchewan's Action Plan to Address Bullying and Cyberbullying.
The 2015-16 Budget allocated $655,000 to support the recommendations in the Action Plan. Resources for students, families and schools can be found on www.iamstronger.ca. Youth can also apply for grants of up to $1,000 each for initiatives that promote kindness, address bullying and influence positive social change in their schools and communities.
For more information about Pink Day or to buy a pink t-shirt, visit https://campaigns.redcross.ca/.
You can also add your voice on social media by adding the hashtags #PinkDay, #ImagineNoBullying or #CultureChange to content that supports the prevention of bullying. To learn about anti-bullying initiatives in Saskatchewan, please visit www.saskatchewan.ca/residents/education-and-learning/anti-bullying.