Students and adults across Canada will be wearing pink shirts today as part of an annual anti-bullying campaign founded by two Nova Scotia teens in 2007.
When a fellow classmate was bullied for wearing a pink polo shirt to school, David Shepherd and Travis Price decided to take a stand. They bought dozens of pink tank tops at a thrift store and announced they would give them out to students the next day. With the word out, many students took it upon themselves to show up for school in pink rather than wait for one of the tops.
Since then, Pink Shirt Day has become an annual event to speak out against bullying in schools, communities and workplaces.
"I've been driving this ever since that day [in 2007]. I am never, ever, ever going to give this up," Price, who is now 24, told The Guardian, a newspaper based in Prince Edward Island.
Many people across the country have been showing their support for the day on social media. On Twitter, many Canadians exhorted their followers to wear pink today to help stop bullying.
Others showed support by sharing pictures of themselves and colleagues in pink shirts, including this fantastic photograph of members of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service.
Pink Shirt Day is an excellent cause, but its message needs to extend throughout the year.
Bonnie Patterson, the president and chief executive officer of the Council of Ontario Universities, reminded us of that in a tweet sent Wednesday morning.
"I'm wearing my pink shirt. But every day is the right day to stand up against bullying," she wrote.