For some, pink may be just a colour.
But for Karri Berg, the community outreach coordinator for awareness and prevention of violence at the Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and Area, the pink is about more than a fashion statement — it’s about starting a conversation about bullying.
Pink Shirt Day, an anti-bullying initiative practiced across Canada, will be coming to Cochrane for the third time on Feb. 27. Nationally, this is the fifth annual running of the campaign.
“Like any awareness project, the more we put the issue out there, the more discussion grows,” said Berg. “By wearing a pink shirt, you think about bully and start talking about what bullying is.”
Two teenage boys, David Shepherd and Travis Price, from a Nova Scotia high school, spearheaded the campaign in 2007.
After a Grade 9 boy was bullied for wearing a pink shirt, Price and Shepherd bought and passed out pink shirts to their classmates, taking a stand against the bully.
The official pink shirts are being sold through the Boys and Girls Club and also through some local schools.
In 2012, close to 700 T-shirts were sold. This year, Berg said she’d love to see more than 1,000 of the anti-bullying shirts sold.
She said she challenges Cochrane businesses, schools and organizations, along with adults and children to take part, donning their pink to raise awareness.
“The more people the better in my opinion,” said Berg. “I want to see the town blanketed in pink.”
Last year, Berg and an anti-bullying group marched down Cochrane’s main street to raise awareness for the
The pink shirts are available in kids and adult sizes, and can be pre-ordered through the Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and Area before Jan. 30.
The shirts cost $10.
To pre-order the pink shirts, or to find out more information on Pink Shirt Day, please call 403-932-4747.
