Every year since the start of Pink Shirt Day, DDA has taken part in the celebration of diversity and inclusion. Clients and staff gather in pink shirts, have picnics and pizza parties, and have a great time! This year, despite the cooler weather, we bundled up and headed to the park at Cambie and King George in Richmond.
Pink Shirt Day began in Nova Scotia in 2007 when two boys in grade 9 came to the support and advocacy of their classmate. The following is from a Globe and Mail article:
“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 a 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.”
